Primary Colors
by Tsubasa Hane
Summary: A tale of teens, story of shenanigans, and fable of friends. With a little romance and mutant powers thrown in the mix. INCOMPLETE
1. At the Beginning

_This is the start of my very first **X-men: Evolution** fanfic.  Until now, I've been dabbling in a few songfics and such to try and make a name for myself, and now it's time for the real deal.  Episode parallels will pop up every now and then, but for the most part this story is totally original, and slightly AU.  I will also be including an original character of my own creation by the name of Ryo.  She's not the main focus or primary character, but she will play a large part later on.  I know everybody's on edge lately because of the dreaded "Mary-Sue" epidemic that's been speaking throughout the site, but I will try my hardest to keep from pulling the same on you.  All I ask in return is your honest opinion, and to not judge her until you get a feel for her character.  Fair Deal?_

_Oh…a word to the wise about my writing: not only is nothing ever what it seems at first, but I have a habit of toying with characters.  It's fun!_ ^_^

**[Random Quote: **"Oh, yo' ass better pray I don't look that word up!"**]**

Rogue's eyelids fluttered open at the sound of her roommate's shrill alarm clock, only to find herself staring into the early morning rays of sunlight seconds later.  With a wince and a groan, she burned her face further into the welcoming pillow and blanket to evade the harsh light.  She never was much of an 'early bird,' though she did manage to catch a glimpse of the blinking, red digits.  7:00 am on the dot.

"Hey, Rogue?" A cheerful voice (_much_ too cheerful for that hour of the morning) spoke up, "Are you awake yet?"

Quickly realizing that any efforts to sleep in would be a lost cause, Rogue sat up in bed to face her roommate with a somewhat sleepy glare.  "Remind meh again…why is it Ah hafta be awake at _sev'n_ in the _mornin'_ on a perfectly good Saturday?" She managed to croak out her question, only then noticing Kitty reach for her training uniform, and thus was totally oblivious to the glares being sent to her back.

"Don't you remember?" Kitty asked, having to stand on tiptoes to reach the higher shelf, where her gloves had been stored.  "The Professor wants us to, like, try out some new Danger Room program Logan just finished installing."

"Oh, yea'.  That new holographic version, right?"

"Mm-hmm.  Everyone's gotta go, even the Newbies." She finally turned back around, gloves in hand, and got a good look at her roommate that morning. "Um…Rogue?  Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but…are you feeling okay?  You don't look very well."

No matter how horrible she must have looked, Rogue probably felt at least ten times worse.  Her head was pounding with such intensity it was as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it the previous night, making it difficult for her to even see straight; her throat was so sore she could barely manage to swallow, making ever word difficult to get out; and her stomach was loudly protesting, not just from hunger either.  Never one to let a little bug get her down, however, she tried to ignore the dizzy feeling by simply dismissing it.  "Ah'm fine, Sugah…just didn' get enough sleep last night, is all."

Kitty didn't look the least bit convinced. "Are you sure?  I can always tell the Professor you were too sick to get up today.  I'm sure he won't mi—"

"Listen, Kitty," she interrupted the girl mid-sentence. "Ah haven't been sick in ova' two years, an' some little headache ain't gonna stop meh in mah tracks now."  As if to further prove her point, she stubbornly climed out of the covers to sit on the edge of her bed, perfectly straight with her arms folded and legs crossed.  "See?"

"All right then…see you downstairs." With that, Kitty ran out of the room, phasing through the door as she pulled on her gloves.  

Seconds later, a loud crash was heard from the hall, followed by Kitty's screaming protest of Kurt teleporting to the top of the stairs directly in front of her, knocking them both down as a result.  Rogue gave a half-hearted smile at her friend's daily antics, shaking her head slightly before having to hold it in pain.  The light was so bright, she had to close her eyes for a brief moment.

"Remy t'inks de _femme_ be right.  Y' don' look like y' be feelin' too good, _Chere_."

Rogue's head snapped up at the familiar Cajun accent, and found none other than Remy LeBeau casually leaning against the wall beside the now-open window, a look of concern marring his usual smug features. "Remy!" She called out in surprise, though more from seeing him at that particular moment than the fact that he was actually there; he routinely pulled that little stunt on her at least once a day, usually in the morning.

"Dat would me _moi_." He kicked away from the wall just as she got up, embracing her tightly.  She happily snuggled into his hold, greatly enjoying the warmth of his strong arms wrapped around her.    

"Ah don't know what y'all are making such a big deal about, Rem." She spoke up. "Ah feel perfectly fine."  He had to smile at her stubbornness; she reminded him of himself in so many ways.  Noticing she was close to falling back asleep, he bushed away a few of her shockingly-white locks to gently kiss her forehead…then frowned.  

Rogue could sense his suddenly change in attitude, pulling away in question.  Remy said nothing, but placed a gloved hand on her forehead.  His grimace deepened.  "Y' burnin' up.  Remy can feel it even t'rough de glove."  She tried to protest, but he silenced her from any further comments. "Back t' bed, _Chere_.  I'm serious.  Y' in no condition t' be up an' about t'day." His voice softened at that last sentence, showing his concern, and Rogue finally gave in.

He guided her back over to the bed, even going as far as to tuck the girl in.  "Ah don't suppose ya plan on readin' meh a bedtime story, too?" She joked through a yarm.

Remy smirked at her attempt at humor.  "Jus' promise Remy y' won' leave de room 'till y' be feel better, _oui_?"

She closed her eyes and responded, "Oui."  Satisfied, Remy her one last kiss goodbye before heading back out the window.  Rogue waiting a moment before opening one eye, scanning the room to make sure he was really gone.  Once she was convinced she was the only one left in the room, she proceeded to get up and dress for the day.

After all, a little fever never hurt anyone, right?

Even with the delay, Rogue still wasn't the last person to reach the Danger Room that morning; Jean, surprisingly enough, still had yet to arrive.  As the young goth walked through the sliding doors, approximately ten minutes after Remy had left, a rather odd sight greeted her.  The adults were already up in the control room preparing the simulation, leaving the kids down in the actual training area.  All the New Recruits, the guys especially, were crowded together around something excitedly, with more than one of the older members looking on the verge of hysterics (Kitty was holding her sides in pain from laughing so hard).

Ray Bezerker was the man of the hour…and with a new hairstyle to boot.  Sometime during the last few days, he had lost his trademark orange bangs, leaving a sharp-looking blonde cru-cut in its wake.  As did most of the other girls, Rogues eyes immediately turned to Tabby, who returned the stares looking about as innocent as she wasn't.  They knew their suspicions to be true.

"Dude…please do _not_ tell me she made you chop 'em off!" Roberto quipped, rubbing a hand over Ray's head jokingly.  He received a glare and aimless swattings in the process.

Ray was obviously not enjoying the sudden attention and folded his arms in protest.  "Tabbs didn't _make_ me do anything.  She simply told me, 'Ray, either those bangs go or I do,' but it was _my_ decision and mine alone."

The guys all just looked at one another, shaking their heads in the obvious male sign for 'whipped.' Someone even coughed it in the background, and when Ray turned to face the culprit, he found a grinning Jamie look back at him.  

"Hey, Tabby," Jubilee whispered into the older girl's ear between fits of giggling.  "You gotta teach me how you do it!"

Tabby grinned.  "It's all about using your God-given gifts, Jubes…trust me." With a wink, she left the Asian girl standing there, mouth open.  After about a minute, Jubilee blinked and turned to her friends behind her.

"Did she just say what I think she…" She paused mid-sentence at the sight of both Rahne and Amara scribbling furiously on a notepad. "…are you two _serious_?"

 Amara shrugged.  "You have to admit; she's good."

"Very good." Rahne nodded in agreement.  Jubilee smacked a hand against her forehead.

Jean chose that particular moment to enter the room, furiously apologizing for being late.  Scott immediately took charge.  "All right you guys, get ready for the pre-mission briefing." Rogue couldn't help but roll her eyes at his unctuous attitude, noticing many of the others were doing the same; sometimes, he treated them like they really _were_ part of the army.  "First off, is Ryo here?"

"I'm here." A voice called from the back, drawing everyone's attention.

Most of the kids at the institute, Rogue included, were vaguely familiar with the almost seventeen-year-old mutant, though they still didn't know much about her.  She had shown up at the Institute gates a little more than a month ago with no family or personal possessions and hardly spoke to anyone, though she seemed to have formed a small friendship with Evan Daniels (who was standing right next to her at that moment) almost immediately.  Ryo was slightly taller in height than most of the younger girls, although painfully thin, with an extremely fair complexion and hazel-grey eyes.  Her hair consisted of medium-length blonde curls which were pulled back into a high ponytail, revealing double-peirced ears that held emerald- and sapphire-colored studs.  

As did the rest of the New Recruits (though she was older than all of them), she wore the traditional "newbie" uniform.

Scott addressed the group in general, "For those of you who haven't met her already, this is Ryo Cadencey…er, who has yet to receive a codename, I guess." He scratched his head, then returned to his introduction.  "Unless I'm mistaken, her mutation revolves around the usage of sonic wages.  Am I correct?"

"You got it." Ryo confirmed, obviously not used to being the center of attention, though not entirely unenjoying it.  "I can shoot sonic blasts, and sometimes even create sound barriers as a shield."

"Now, are you sure you're ready for this, Ryo?" His voice lowered slightly in volume as he turned to her, "Since you're new, it wouldn't be a problem for you to sit this one out."

She rolled her eyes in response.  "Oh, please.  The last think I need is to be babied around here for being the 'new girl.' I can handle it just fine.  No sweat." To accent her point, she waved one hand dismissively…

…sending a large sonic blast emitted from her hand straight into the nearby adimantium wall, causing a crater-like dent about twice the size of her head.  As the trail of smoke cleared, everyone turned back to Ryo, eyes wide.  She laughed nervously.

"Umm…I meant to do that?"

Inwardly, Scott groaned before diverting his gaze up towards the control room.  _~Professor, are you sure she's ready for this?  She's can even properly keep her powers in check yet!~ _ He glanced back at the girl in question, where Evan was reassuring her that 'things like this happen all the time.'  

_~And this would be the perfect opportunity for her to start learning how.~ _Xavier replied.  _~You must remember, Scott…Ryo has had these powers for close to two years now without sufficient control.  To deprive her of proper training any longer would be almost cruel.~_

With a sigh, Scott was forced to agree; the Professor _did_ have a point…and he _was_ always right when it came to such situations.  

"All right, X-men." He resumed his leadership role, "Today's mission will feature Wolverine's newest holographic simulation program; the enemies are more real, and so's the danger.  Since many of you are—or rather, _should_ be—unfamiliar with the Danger Room, we've placed it on the lowest setting."  With a nod from Scott, the simulation was activated.

The room dissolved into a mountainous area surrounded by luscious, green trees.  They stood somewhere about mid-cliff, approximately fifty to one-hundred feet off the ground.  Rahne, who was slightly afraid of heights, squealed as she accidentally looked down, burying her head in Sam's chest for comfort. 

"The idea is to get across this mountain safely by way of the route your team is assigned.  And yes, Kitty and Kurt, _all_ team members must get across _without_ excess phasing and/or teleporting." The two mentioned snapped their fingers simultaneously, indicating that's _exactly_ what they had planned to do.  "Obstacles include falling rocks, multiple tunnel passages, and the occasional firing droid…nothing too harsh if you can all work together."  Once Scott was sure everyone understood the terms, he read out the team list:

Team 1: _Kitty/Kurt/Spyke/Ryo_

Ryo sighed with relief, then turned to high-five Evan with a grin.

Team 2: _Scott/Jean/Amara/Ray_

Team 3: _Tabby/Bobby/Jubilee/Roberto_

"Hey!" Tabby called out in protested.

Scott gave her a Look. "You two were split for a reason, Tabby."

Team 4: _Rogue/Sam/Rahne/Jamie_

Team 1 was assigned to the lower left side of the mountain; team 2 was directed to go straight over the top; team 3, to the lower right; and finally, team 4 was to go directly through the mountain by means of the tunneled-out paths inside.

"Everyone meet on the other side in about ten/fifteen minutes, understood?" A chorus of nods responded. "And…GO!"

Heading through the mountain, team 4 expected their job to be the easiest.  Rahne, thankful she wasn't on one of the outside groups, took the lead and transformed into her world form.  She effortlessly sniffed out the scene of any obstacles; anything they ran into, Sam quickly destroyed with ease.  Normally, Rogue couldn't have been more furious that she was stuck on such a trivial team, but honestly her head hurt too much at that point for her to even care.  For once, she was _glad_ all she was needed for was just being there.  Oh, sure…it _seemed_ easy enough.

They got lost almost immediately.

"So much for that wolf nose of yours; you got us lost!" Sam shouted.

"Well, you obviously weren't much help yourself…overachiever!" Rahne countered back, using the first English "insult" she could think of, her vocabulary still remaining somewhat limited.  As the two bickered on, Rogue's headache was getting worse and worse with ever word uttered.  It was getting to the point where she was desperately considering absorbing the two of them just to shut 'em up.

Jamie watched the older kids for a moment before shaking his head; obviously _he_ would have to be the one to do something or they'd never get out!  Pondering the situation, he was suddenly hit with a burst of inspiration (no pub intended).  He made a mental count of how many paths there were to choose from, then ran himself into a nearby wall.  Four clones spilled out, just the right amount.

"Okay, you go down this one…you go down here…you, here…and you, here." He directed each clone down a certain way.  "The first person to find the exit, report back here.  Got it?"

"YES, SIR!" The four Jamies saluted before each ran off down his respective tunnel.  About a minute later, the third clone from the left came back.  

Rahne and Sam were still arguing.

Rogue was starting to pull one of her gloves off.

"Hey, guys!" Jamie interrupted, gaining all three of his teammate's attentions. "…this way." Sam and Rahne looked at one another before turning to guiltily follow the twelve-year-old as he led them the rest of the way through the mountain tunnel.

Two of the other three groups faired their obstacles much easier, facing very little problems.  Sure, Scott and Ray were acting all 'macho-manly' around the girls, leaving Amara and jean to leisurely follow behind them, rolling their eyes all the while.  Sure, Tabby and Roberto had to deal with their team leader and his girlfriend's incessant flirting the entire time (though, strangely enough, they were the first to reach the finish line in spite of…certain "distractions").  But they were still almost effortless attempts.

Team 1, however, didn't seem to be faring so well.  It wasn't a matter of inexperience on Ryo's part, or any lack of teamwork (quite the opposite, actually).  The simple fact was they had, for whatever reason, been targeted the heaviest.  Kitty and Kurt has their hands full disarming a swarm of laser druids, Kurt teleporting them on top while Kitty phased through and short-circuited their electric work before Kurt brought them back down to safety.  Ryo and Evan, likewise, had teamed up to deal with any rocks and debris that threatened to crush the quartet.

It wasn't too long after when everything suddenly grew unnervingly quiet.  The lasers had all been deactivated, and the boulders had cased falling.  It appeared that team 1 was in the clear, so they began making their way to the finish line with slightly more confidence.

A large chunk of rock, larger than any that had come before it, started to break away from near the top of the hill.  When it finally did, it fell at such a rapid speed, only Kurt was fortunate enough to see it happen.  Even worse, it was heading straight for ... "Ryo!" 

Kurt gave the call just in time; she caught sight of the boulder seconds before it hit, instinctively holding out her arms in defense.  The sudden shock, however, caused a very large blast to eject from her outstretched hands.  The force of it shattered the stone into harmless pebbles, but all sent her flying backwards straight into Evan (who still had a number of spikes protruding from his arms), knocking them both off the cliff and down into the forest setting below.

All in a time frame of less than five seconds.

"Evan!" Ororo cried out from where she and the other instructors had been watching.  "Charles, end the simulation _now_!"

Without waiting for either a verbal or physical response, she flew out of the control room and down to her fallen nephew, who she spotted first.  Luckily, he seemed to have ceased his plummet at the bottom of the hill, so she was able to find him with ease, kneeling at his side as he struggled to get up while pulling in any remaining bone spikes that still stuck out.

As the holographic image faded away and everyone rushed to one of their fallen comrades, Ororo gave a sudden gasp of shock: "Evan…your arms!"  They were smeared with blood.  "How bad is it?"

Evan looked down, growing pale at the sight.  "T-that's not mine, Auntie O." He wiped away at the crimson liquid to reveal no wounds whatsoever.  

Ororo was torn between relief and unknown fear. "But then…"

It was Kitty who first saw her lying on the floor a few feet away, unconscious.  There was a small burse on her forehead, but she seemed otherwise unharmed.  "Ryo…hey, Ryo." Kitty knelt down beside the girl and gently tried to shake her awake.  "Come on, Ryo…time to  get…up…" At this point, Jamie wandered over in concern.

"Is she okay, Kitty?"  He got no reply.

Kitty knew something was wrong the moment her knees started to feel wet.  Likewise, a warm, sticky substances began to permeate her gloves.  She looked down, and saw nothing but Red.

The X-men ran towards the sound of Kitty's screaming and came face to face with a horrific sight; more than one of them had to turn away.  Kitty and Jamie (the former of who seemed to be in shock, the latter of who was not in tears and had to be calmed down by Jubilee) had rolled Ryo's unconscious body on her stomach to survey the damage; there were numerous scratches all over her back, ever last one of them so deep her uniform was no drenched in blood.  A small pool was beginning to form around her.  She was still breathing, but just barely.

"Oh, my stars and garters!" Hank gasped upon arriving at the scene.  "We must get her to the med ward immediately!"

Amists the chaos, Evan stood off the side, still extremely pale and now trembling.  He couldn't move, nor could he take his eyes off of Ryo.  _His_ powers did this.  That was the only thing running through his mind at the time as he watched Logan gently pick the girl up, blood dripping down his shirt in the process, followed by the rest of the group.  He vaguely heard his aunt walk back over to him, guiding the inattentive boy out of the room.  It all became a blur.

With all the commotion surrounding Ryo, nobody noticed when Rogue's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed, right there on the Danger Room floor.  

TO BE CONTINUED…


	2. My Cherie Amour

_Well, here's chapter 2.  It took less time to finish than I thought it would, probably because it's slightly shorter than chapter 1.  This is where traces of a plotline can be found…if you look reeeeeally closely.  It's there, I promise!  Oh, yeah.  One thing.  In case I didn't warn you before, I am very anti-Xavier and not too big a fan of Jean, either.  Beware, telepath fans…_

**[Random Quote: **"And what have we learned from this experience, Drake?" "…girls are scary."**]**

It didn't take much for Remy to figure out where Rogue was when he discovered she _wasn't_ in her room around mid-morning.  Nor was he all that surprised, if he was to be completely honest with himself.  Sure enough, no sooner had he entered through the Danger Room doors (noting to himself how easy it was to get by security) when he spotted her limp form.  She was breathing heavily, almost gasping for air, and only semi-conscious.

The question was: for how long?

With a look of sadness on his face, he wordlessly walked over to Rogue, bending down on one knee beside her.  He checked her forehead, discouraged to find her even warmer than she had been that morning.  He lovingly brushed away a few damp strands of hair that had been matted to her forehead with sweat.

"_Merde_, _Chere_." He sighed, "Why didn' y' listen t' Remy?"

The surgery was intense, and took several hours to perform.  A majority of Ryo's wounds were so deep thank Hank had to be sure no vital organs had been struck before he could sew them up.  She was lucky; there was some damage to her lungs, but nothing more than a few scratches on the tissue.  A sliver of bone had been discovered leaning up against her lower spinal chord, so sharp it was a wonder it hadn't severed.  Still, it took the most delecate of procedures to remove it and prevent any future disasters.  

Blood loss was another major issue, but fortunately both Jean and Jubilee shared compatible blood types with the young girl, and were both willing to donate a pint each, more than enough to put the girl out of immediate danger.

Despite the usual method of resting back injury patients on their stomachs, a few hours after he finished wrapping her bandages (to prevent infection), Hank allowed Ryo to lay on her back on some extra-soft fluff pillows so she could have visitors.  The anesthesia had yet to leave her system, leaving her a bit drowsy, so he had suggested they keep the visits short.

It was close to one in the afternoon, almost five hours after the accident, when everyone wandered in the infirmary to see how Ryo was faring.  Hank had warned them that it would best to see her one at a time, but of course nobody listened.  However, while the others quickly crowded around her bedside, Scott and Jean drifted off to the side.

"What is it, Scott?" Jean questioned; he had been the one to pull her over, saying it was important.

"It's about Ryo," He began in a hushed whisper, not quite sure how to explain his suspicions.  Heck, he wasn't quite sure what exactly they were himself.  "This is probably going to sound ridiculous and totally out of line, but…" 

When he didn't elaborate, she queried further. "But what?"

"I think the Professor _let_ her get hurt."

"What?!" He sudden outburst caught the attention of the rest of the room for a brief moment, but neither of them seemed to notice.  Jean managed to regain her composure and lower her voice enough to continue: "I assume you have some proof to back this up?"

He started to nod, then uneasily paused.  "Well, not proof exactly.  You see…" He explained the brief telepathic conversation with Xavier earlier that morning.

Scott had expected some reaction out of her, but he certainly didn't expect her to laugh—_laugh_—when he finished.  "Scott, listen to me." She placed a comforting hand on his shoulders, looking him serenely in the eye.  "I know that, as team leader, you feel responsible for the safety of every team member.  But you can't beat yourself up when something goes wrong, like what happened earlier today."

"Wh-what do you mean?" He was obviously confused; he had been accusing _Xavier_, not himself.

"There was no way the Professor could have foreseen something like this happening.  His powers are telepathy, not precognition.  The same goes for you.  Someone gets hurt under your watch—a Newbie on her first day of training, no less—and you immediately try to place blame…find a direct cause."

"But I warned him she had poor control…"

She interrupted him, her voice remaining calm.  "You need to understand that things _can_ happen by accident, Scott...despite what they teach us in school, it is possible."  He forced himself to smile.  Given all the evidence, Jean did have a point.  And it did make sense; this wouldn't be the first time Scott was found beating himself up over something like this.  When Jean sense his mood improving, she smiled.  "Feel better now?"

He nodded. "Actually, I do.  Thanks, Jean."

"Anytime, Scooter." She winked, calling him by his most _hated_ nickname, then linked arms.  "Come on, let's go see Ryo."

As Jean guided him back towards the others, she suddenly received a message.  _~Is there a problem, Jean?~_

_~No, Professor.~_ She responded casually, traces of a smirk on her face.  _~He was a little uneasy of the situation, but I've taken care of any suspicions he may have held towards you.~_

She could feel him telepathically smile proudly at her.  _~Well done, Jean…as always.~_

There was one other student, however, who held back from rushing to Ryo's bedside, albeit for a different reason.  Evan hadn't even changed out of his training uniform since that morning, choosing to lock himself in his bedroom where he remained until Ororo finally had to (literally) drag him out of bed.  Even then, he still remained in a partially dazed state of mind.

"Evan," He vaguely heard his aunt gently call out to him. "Evan, there someone who wants to see you." She took his hand and guided him to the bed.  It took a bit of coaxing on her part, but he finally made over.  He was greeted by Ryo's wearily smiling face. 

"Hey, Evan…you okay?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.  Aside from his aunt, she was the only one to ever call him by his real name, though at more of her insistence than his.  "I was worried that you might have gotten hurt when we fell off that cliff.  Guess I should work on that control a little better, huh?"

He managed a smile. "Yeah, I'm okay.  Don't worry about me." She visible relaxed.  "What about you?  Feeling any better?"

She gave a smug grin he knew well, moving to sit up.  "A little fall can't keep me—" But she was cut off as a sudden wave of pain ripped down her spine, causing her to wince. "Oh, I should _not_ have done that…"

Hank rushed to her side at once.  "I must insist you refrain from moving, my dear, otherwise you run the risk of your wounds re-opening."  He gently laid her back down against the pillows.  Feeling worse by the minute, Evan back away slowly until he was out of Ryo's line of sight.  Not that she noticed; the sudden movement had caused a rush of blood to her head that made her dizzy.

"Y'know…wit' all dis concern f'r one team member, it make Gambit wonder why y' don' notice when anot'er falls ill."  A sudden voice rang from the infirmary doorway.

Everyone abruptly turned to find Remy LeBeau, codename Gambit, walk in with an unconscious Rogue in his arms.  The X-men immediately stood their guard, Scott coming forward.

"What did you do to her?" He growled.

Remy met his gaze with even more anger.  "Didn' y' just hear what Gambit said?  Gambit haven' done _merde_ t' her…de _femme_ be sick wit' fever.  See f'r y'self."

His tone stopped Scott in his tracks, leaving him almost speechless.  Hank, noticing the flush on Rogue's cheeks, stepped forward.  Donning a pair of thin, latex gloves for protection, he placed one hand over her forehead, his eyes widening in surprise.  "Dear me!  No wonder she fainted; her temperature can't be anything less than one hundred and three degrees!"  He stepped back, motioning towards the nearest cot.  "If you wouldn't mind, sir, would you please place her on the bed here?  I must see if I have a cooling compress somewhere around…" He spoke this last sentence more to himself than Remy.

Remy did just as the bestial doctor had requested, not unaware of the sudden attention his every move was given by each person in the room.  In fact, he rather enjoyed it in spite of the circumstances.  Maintaining his poker face the entire time, he grinned inwardly at the looks of shock he was being given for treating the girl in his arms with such tenderness, even more so when he gently kissed her forehead after making sure she was as comfortable as possible.  

"He touched her!" 

"How is he still conscious!" 

"You're asking _me_?"

He moved go get up, only to have a half-conscious Rogue grab his arm.  "Don't leave, Remy." She moaned, wincing.  A smile grew on Remy's face in spite of the stone-cold impression he had been trying to give, and he sat down on the side of the bed to face her.

"Remy not goin' anywhere, _Chere_." He trailed a finger down her jawline, putting her at ease.  "Dat be a promise." Then he did the most unexpected thing. 

He began to sing.

"_Mon Cherie Amour, beau comme jour d'ete/Mon Cherie Amour,__ éloigné en tant que 'Milky Way'…_" The tune was vaguely familiar, but he sang it in French, a language only he and Rogue knew fluently, "_Mon Cheri Amour, le petit que j'adore…Vou êtes la seule fille mes sauts de coeur pour…Comment je souhaite que vous été les miens…"_

"But Remy…" She whispered before drifting off to sleep, "Ah _am_ yours, an' don't ya forget that.  Eva'."

The tension in the air had all but vanished as Kitty watched her best friend and roommate being sweetly serenaded by her first love.  That's what it was, too…love; she could tell even from where she stood.  And they weren't the only ones who had fallen to it, either.  She turned just in time to see Bobby place a kiss on his girlfriend's head, an arm wrapped securely around her, as she rested it on his shoulder.  Sam managed to take hold of Rahne's hand, earning a faint blush from her before she intertwined their fingers together, smiling.  Tabby leaned back against Ray's chest as he wrapped his arms protectively around her, despite their mutal hatred of anything "sappy."  Even Scott placed a hand on Jean's shoulders, which she squeezed tightly with her own.  

It was a tender moment for every couple in the room.

For Kitty, however, it was a slap in the face.  She tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of her stomach so as not to ruin it for anyone else, blinking back unshed tears that threatened to spill over.  She tried to appear just as happy as everyone else in the room; even Kurt was smiling as he thought of Amanda.  She tried, but it wasn't long before everything became too unbearable even for her.  Quietly excusing herself, her voice breaking, she slipped out of the room by phasing through the closed doors.

"Kazchen?" Kurt called out, having been the closest to her at the time.  He got no response.

Jean looked over towards Xavier, receiving a silent nod in response.  She got the message.  "I'll go after." Without another word, Jean existed the room as well.  As she left, Xavier turned to address those still remaining.

"Well, now.  It's been a rather exhilarating afternoon, hadn't it?  But I do believe it would probably be best right now for everybody to leave so our patients can get some rest." He motioned to the two now-fast asleep girls.  There were a few murmurs in the crowd, but everyone soon began drifting out of the room, shouts of "get well" and "feel better" fading as they left, knowing they couldn't be heard anyway.

Soon, only Scott and Remy remained.  The latter had yet to get from his seat next to Rogue, so Scott took the initiative and walked over to meet him eye-to-eye.  "I'm…sorry about earlier." He finally spoke after a moment.  "You see, we thought you were working for Magneto and—"

"Gambit don' work f'r nobody, _homme_…" His curtness then subsided as he put on a slightly more friendly expression.  "But t'anks.  Apology accepted." And, like gentlemen, they shook hands briefly before Remy gave a sudden frown.  Diverting his gaze away from Scott, he instead focused it towards the back of the room.  "Y' always make a habit t' invade ot'ers minds, _Monsieur_?" 

Any surprise Xavier might have had at Remy's sudden outburst was well hidden.  "Of course not, but surely you can understand the reason for suspicion, Mr. …"

"LeBeau."

"…Mr. LeBeau."  He repeated.  "You have fought against us once before, and I simply wish to be absolutely certain you have no intentions to harm any of the students under my care."

Remy scoffed, but didn't say anything more on the subject.  Instead, he turned back to Rogue.  "It be okay if Gambit wishes t' stay wit' her a bit, _non_?" He spoke to Hank, who mutely nodded a response before going back to work.  With Remy's back now to the two of them, Scott took his cue to leave the room and Xavier backed off as well, turning to wheel himself over to Ryo's bedside to check on her.

"Kitty?  Open the door, please, it's Jean." After a few moments of silence, Jean used her telepathy to unlock the door.  She cautiously walked in only to find the younger girl sitting on the edge of her bed Indian-style.  A small stuffed animal in the form of a purple dragon was being held tight in Kitty's clutches as she stared absently at the ground beneath her.  Her expression was completely neutral, but the tears didn't go by unnoticed.

Carefully, Jean moved to sit next to her.  "Are you all right, Kitty?"  She didn't respond verbally, only clung tighter to Lockheed (the name she called her stuffed dragon), and Jean had her answer.  "What's wrong?  Everybody's worried about you."

"I-I…" The brunette tried to speak, but her mouth couldn't seem to form the words.  The traces of guilt in her voice gave her away, however, and Jean didn't need to use her powers to realize what was wrong.

"Oh, Kitty," She placed a sister arm around the girl's shoulders, speaking as softly as she could.  "You're still in love with him, aren't you?"  It was no secret amidst the mansion that the breakup between Kitty and Lance some months before—aside from being rather unexpected—still effected her deeply, even then.

Kitty tried denying it, but her shake of the head ended up coming out as a nod.  She leaned her head down against Jean's shoulder.  "What's wrong with me?  I'm supposed to hate him…but I can't."

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" Jean sighed, feeling nothing but pity for the girl at the moment.  "Listen to me, Kitty, very carefully.  No guy is worth beating yourself up over for, _especially_ Lance Alvers." That succeeded in getting her attention.  Kitty sat up to look Jean directly in the eye.  "I know it sounds harsh, but it's true.  He had his chance…in fact, you gave him more chances, shown more patience than any girl I've ever known.  And what did he do?  Blow it all away!"

"I know that." Kitty turned away.  "Believe me.  I know it, and yet I just can't seem to accept it."

Jean gave her a comforting smile, smoothing out some of the loose strands atop Kitty's head.  "Tell you what.  Why don't you sleep on it?  Relax, take a little nap.  I'll cover for you the rest of the day…sound good?"  She nodded, and Jean got up to leave.

"Hey Jean?"  She paused in the doorway at the sound of her name.  "…thanks.  For everything."

As she shut the door behind her, leaving the younger girl to her thoughts, Jean paused to lean against it.  Wincing slightly, she placed a hand to her head in pain, shaking it a few times in sudden confusion.  Passing it off as a simple migraine, she stood up and made her way back down the hall to continue on with her day.      

TO BE CONTINUED…

*note—the song Remy sang earlier in this chapter was a French translation of "My Cherie Amour," originally done in English by the fabulous Stevie Wonder and translated by _moi_ via Altavista.com.  


	3. Journey to the Past

[[Chapter 3 focuses completely on Ryo, her past and how she came to be a mutant.  I feel it was a necessary part of introducing her to the readers, and hope you can all bear with me for at least one chapter.  You might even like what you read.]]

_Well, considering the responses I got for the last chapter, I'm going to give you all the benefit of the doubt and blame Fanfiction.net's downtime for my previous lack of reviews.  Plus, they've FINALLY begun to sell egg nog in the stores around here again, so I'm in a very good mood.  All is right with the world!  ~Happyness~_

**Todd Fan—**lol.  No echo this time…thanks to you.  Look ma; reviews!

**Eileen—**Wow.  I didn't even _think_ about that while writing.  No, nothing's "going around"…giving Roge a little bug is all part of my plan.  There is a method to my madness.  *insert a crash of thunder, a burst of lightening, and an evil cackle in the background*  You're adding this to your favorites?  Schweet!  I love your fics, too…they're so hilarious!

**Neva—**Actually, Rogue outgrowing her reservations is addressed well later into the story…when she gets better, that is.  I'm trying to cross her Evo personality with that of _XM: TAS_ Rogue.  Fun-fun.  So happy you like it so far; something tells me you'll like what happens in the next few chapters as well…

**ishandahalf—**Ain't Remy a doll?  BTW—next chapter is all about how our favorite couple can come in contact with one another.  Think you can wait that long?

**Lady MR—**Yeah, I probably should translate Remy-speak, shouldn't I?  Darn my laziness.  Oh, well…you can always go to altavista.com if you really need literal stuff.  Heck, I don't even TAKE French; everything I know comes from readin' comics and other fanfics.  Don't worry; I've got a good reason for my anti-Xavier motives.  And know what?  It even makes sense!  *gasp*

**gambitgirl—**eep!  Is this soon enough for you?  *hides behind computer* Thanksgiving break is coming up, so I'll have some time away from _Grease_ rehearsals where I can write more.  Promise.

**[Random Quote:** "Great boredom causes turkeys to die in my notebook!"**]** (…don't ask.  Let's just say my friend Rachel was bored and doodling Thanksgiving dinners in her American History notebook, and leave it at that.)

"How is her progress coming, Hank?" Xavier softly asked as he wheeled himself over to the young girl's bed.  She appeared to be sleeping peacefully at the moment, a look of tranquility adorning her facial features.  "She doesn't seem to be feeling any pain right now."

Hank was busy pulling the curtains closed between Ryo's and Rogue's sections of the infirmary so as to give them a little more privacy.  "Indeed, Charles; Miss Cadencey's healing very nicely.  According to my observations, the bandages should be able to come off within a few weeks at most.  Now, if you will excuse me, I must go check up on our young Southern Belle…that is, if I can manage to get past her Cajun protector." This last part was said with a faint smile, which was warmly returned.  

No sooner had Hank left when Xavier immediately diverted his attention back to Ryo's sleeping form, adjusting his position so that he sat directly behind her head.  Were it not for the seriousness of both her condition and the situation, he might have gloated at how easy it was!  

Each time a new mutant arrived at the institute, Xavier felt it necessary to scan through his or her memories for anything that could hint to possible future disloyalty or even danger to his students.  It was true he always felt a pang of guilt forming in the back of his mind, but he'd long ago made the decision that the advantages to such a procedure far outweighed any sense of wrongdoings.  He never prodded.  Only key memories, things that might be crucial for him to know about, were scanned.  

However, he'd had yet to find the perfect opportunity to scan young Ryo's mind…until now.

Satisfied that he was alone in the room with her, Xavier immediately set to work.  He placed both hands on either side of Ryo's head, inches away from her temples and palms facing inward, and closed his eyes to allow for better concentration.  Blocking out all other thoughts, he cautiously entered her mind…

_A relatively comforting world greeted Xavier as he took his first few steps inside Ryo's subconscious.  The overhead sky was a deep navy-blue color made to simulate the night sky, complete with a vast array of shimmering stars.  It was obvious the girl had studied astronomy in the past, for he was able to spot and recognize quite a few northern constellations as well.  There was no moon, leaving it very dark, though not impossible to see.  The ground was covered in soft, luscious grass as far as the mental eye could see.  And yet, Xavier could distinctively hear the gentle breaking of waves as if he was right next to a beach.  There were few trees nearby, and much of the terrain consisted of many hills of various sizes._

_He allowed himself a moment to take in the initial surroundings, for they represented her current state of mind, before reaching in further._

_The first images to surface were, unsurprisingly, those Ryo could still remember in her state of consciousness.  They came mostly in brief flashes, images displayed against the night sky of Ryo's mind in a hazy, circular frame, each one consisting of a random period in time.  There were even a few of her time at the institute, including moments she and Evan had spent together soon after she first arrived.  At these, Xavier smiled._

_Many revolved around years spend at an old orphanage.  It was a very cozy looking place, and very large to accommodate for what looked like more than two dozen children who lived there.  Xavier had expected instances of extreme angst and torture that would suggest a troubled childhood, much like he had with both Todd and Lance, but what he found seemed almost the exact opposite.  Her legal guardians seemed to have a knack for taking care of children, giving all those under their care plenty of love and attention while maintaining strict rule in the household.  Her friends were typical young boys and girls, some who got along and some who didn't.  She had her enemies, of course, though from nothing more than childish disputes.  To Xavier, it would appear she had, despite being orphaned at a young age, lived a perfectly healthy childhood._

_Then the real memories began._

_Xavier found himself suddenly in little control of his surroundings, and they faded away into a lower middle-class neighborhood. He stood (having the ability to do so in the mind, where he was no longer restricted to a wheelchair), eyes focused on a vaguely familiar girl with curly, deep auburn-brown hair.  It took him a moment before he realized it was a slightly younger version of Ryo; two or three years younger, at least, since she still had her natural hair color._

_The image of Ryo appeared deep in through, carrying her school books tightly to her chest as she made her way down the sidewalk.  Clearly, she was just returning home from school, Xavier noted as she literally walked right through him.  He was careful to observe every last detail, almost positive as to what was crucial about this particular moment._

_Sure enough, the fourteen-year-old soon began wincing, lightly shaking her head to ease the pain but only making it worse.  Xavier could feel the sudden rush of power flowing through the young girl's body, as well as the amount of determination she possessed to try and ignore it.  She made it as far as another two blocks before collapsing to her knees a few feet away from an old oak tree, dropping her books so she could cover her ears tightly with both hands.  Various sounds from all around here were begin magnified nearly tenfold, and she could hear everything.  Car horns…people talking…babies crying…feet stomping…_

_"Ryo!" A voice from behind called out to the young girl.  He turned just in time to see another girl around the age of twelve (a friend from the orphanage, her mind told him) running towards her fallen friends at full speed.  The fear and concern were clearly evident on her face._

_Ryo looked up, and for an instant Xavier was able to see everything from her eyes.  The excruciating pain had blurred her vision, leaving her scared and confused.  All she was able to make out was a shadowy figure coming straight towards her, and it frightened her.  "No!" She screamed.  "Stay away!"  In panic, she held out her arms crossed directly in front of her._

_The next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion.  With her eyes closed tightly and head turned away, Ryo wasn't able to see what was forming in front of her hands.  It looked like some kind of controlled heat wave, just barely visible to the naked eye.  Whatever it was, it took less than half a second to develop before releasing itself in a concentrated blast, hitting the twelve-year-old square in the chest.  All Ryo heard was a sudden scream, turning her head just in time to see her friend go flying backwards straight into a nearby fence, banging her head against one of the planks.  Hard._

_She found herself completely paralyzed, her mouth open in shock.  Slowly, she uncrossed her hands to stare at them, then back at the girl.  What exactly just happened, she didn't know…except that whatever it was, it was her fault._

_Then it hit her: "Mai!" Ryo scrambled to the blonde girl's side, gently shaking her. "Mai!  Mai…come on, Valentine, wake up!" The girl was still breathing, thankfully, but otherwise completely unconscious.  A large bump was already beginning to form on the back of her head where it hit the fence._

_Ryo stood up very slowly, trying her very hardest not to cry.  No, she couldn't cry, but she'd never been so scared before in her life.  In a blind moment of panic, she took off in the direction of the orphanage, her books forgotten.  Xavier was barely able to keep up with her._

_She made her way back home in record time, but still didn't stop.  Brushing straight passed one of the female caretakers ("Ryo!" she called out in vain), she refused to stop for even an instant until she reached her room, slamming the door shut before leaning against it to catch her breath just as Xavier entered behind her.  As she stared straight ahead at nothing in particular, her body slowly slid down until she was on the floor, curled into fetal position.  Only then did she allow herself to cry_

_Later that night, Ryo snuck out her bedroom window under the cloak of darkness, carrying nothing but a small bag of belongings._

_Xavier barely had time to take in everything when the image dissolved into a new memory.  He stood in front of a large, Victorian-styled home on a street very similar to the one before.  The sound of children's laughter filled the air, coming from a primary school that could easily be seen at the end of the block.  Amidst the youthful chaos, two little girls stood out.  Neither of them couldn't have been more than five or six years of age.  One was obviously Ryo, with her now unmistakable auburn curls, and the other was vaguely familiar to him, though he couldn't figure out why._

_Her hair was midnight black, cut just above the shoulders in a fashion very similar to Rogue's.  She was very pale, even more so than Ryo, but held a youthful blush that was distinctively present on her cheeks.  With Ryo in tow, she hurriedly dragged the young girl to the very house Xavier stood in front of.  The little girl was obviously having trouble keeping up with her enthusiastic friend._

_"Wanda!" She called out, giggling all the while, "Slow down!  You're going too fast!"  Xavier raised an eyebrow at this, but chalked it up as coincidence at the time.  It couldn't be…_

_"You're just gonna love my daddy, Ryo…and wait until you meet my brother!" The girl named Wanda shouted back, completely ignoring her friend's pleas of slowing her pace.  Xavier followed the young couple through the doorway and into a lovely, yet simple hallway, noticing a Six-star wall ornament off to one side.  "Daddy!" She cried out, finally stopping and allowing poor Ryo to rest.  "Daddy!  I made a new friend at 'kintergar'en' today!  Come see!"  _

_An aging white-haired man walked into the room from what appeared to be a small kitchen.  Xavier gasped as his face came into view._

_Unlike most parents, he immediately frowned upon seeing the young girl at his daughter's side.  "Wanda, what have I told you about—"_

_"But you don't understand, Daddy!  Ryo said her parents are like you; they can do neat things, just like you can!"  She turned to Ryo, her smile never fading.  "Isn't that right?" Shyly, Ryo nodded  (This further intrigued Xavier.  ~So, she's a *second* generation mutant.~ He thought to himself.)_

_Wanda's father also raised an eyebrow in curiosity.  "Is that so? Well, then, I will certainly have to meet them sometime." His attitude brightened drastically as he now gave Ryo a welcoming smile.  "Forgive my earlier rudeness…Ryo, is it?  I'm afraid you had caught me at a bad moment.  Feel free to make yourself at home." He motioned towards the kitchen. "Your brother's already in the kitchen  having a snack, Wanda.  You can introduce your new friend to him if you like." He gave Ryo a quick pat on the head before retreating up the stairs._

_Wanda giggled. "Told you.  C'mon, let's get something to eat."  She guided Ryo into the kitchen, where a little boy was sitting at the counter with his back towards them, munching on cookies.  He seemed content in his moment of silence, happily swinging his legs back and forth.  "Hey, bro!  This is my new friend, Ryo."_

_"Wanda, what did Daddy say about bringing—" He began to say as he spun around and jumped off the stool in one motion…then froze._

_"Ryo, this is my brother, Pietro.  Pietro, this is my new friend, Ryo, from school."_

_Their eyes met and locked in an instant; hazel-gray against crystal blue.  Wanda hardly noticed.  Having done her introduction, she hopped over to the kitchen cabinets, climbing up on top of the counter to reach the higher shelves_

_The expression on their faces was practically identical, a mixture of fascination with youthful curiosity.  Neither of them moved or even blinked for about half a minute, to the point where Xavier was almost sure they weren't breathing either.  He watched the two with great interest, touched by the innocence of the young, and yet felt a deep feeling of dread growing within him every passing second…_

_Ryo was the first to break the silence, tilting her head to one side in a child-like manner.  "You look like one of those 'al-bind-oh' rats I saw on TV once."_

_From her seat on the counter, Wanda snorted with laughter into the bag of chips she was eating from.  The little boy's expression, now broken from its trance, changed from that of shock, to anger, and finally to amusement.  He certainly hadn't heart *that* one before.  As Ryo herself started to giggle at his reaction, young Pietro found himself smiling along with them._

_"Nice to meet you, too." He extended one hand, which she eagerly shook, and motioned for her to come and sit next to her on the counter, offering up one of his cookies._

_Watching the three youngsters talk and laugh happily among each another, Xavier was caught by surprise when the scenery changed for a third time.  Mainly because he was suddenly standing in front of a burning house in the middle of the night.  The sound of fire trunks and men shouting from all directions was nearly overwhelming, and he nearly choked on the thick smoke that hung in the air.  A young girl's incessant cries rang through the air, turning his attention to an eight-year-old version of Ryo being restrained by two police officers.  She was in tears and unable to tear her sight away from the blazing fire._

_"MOMMY!  DADDY!" She cried out, desperately trying to escape the men who held her back._

_"I'm sorry, honey, but we can't let you go in there," The female officer tried explaining as gently as possible. "It's too dangerous!"_

_"But I have to save my mommy and daddy!  They were still inside!  They were…still…" but she was unable to continue, her sobs overcoming any further words she tried to get out.  Obviously weary from both crying and the time of night, Ryo practically collapsed into the police officers' arms.  They looked almost ready to cry themselves, overcome with grief for the small child in their hold._

_Xavier turned his attention to a group of officers that resembled the chief among a few other deputies.  He could just barely hear the conversation between them:_

_"…just lucky she wasn't home at the time.  At a friend's house all evening, according to records…"_

_"…something about being worshipers of Satan, claimed they had supernatural powers…"_

_"…definitely a hate crime, chief.  Multiple gunshot wounds to the head, died on impact…"_

_"…real shame, too…some of the nicest folks I ever met…"_

_When he couldn't stand to listen to them anymore, he focused his attention back on young Ryo.  She had calmed down slightly upon spotting a familiar face in the crowd.  Wordlessly, she ran straight into the welcoming arms of the father of her two best friends.  _

_"It will be all right, child." Eric attempted to sooth the girl, gently stroking her hair as she cried into his lower chest.  Xavier was somewhat surprised at the genuine compassion his old friend was showing, not used to seeing that side of him.  "Shh…shh, it's okay.  It's going to be okay…"  But he, too, was holding back tears as he stared hatefully at the burning house, furious at whoever it was that could do such a thing._

_Eight-year-old versions of the twins, both in tears, walked up behind their father.  As soon as Ryo caught sight of them, she immediately abandoned the older man's embrace for that of the one closest to her:  Pietro.  The little boy held her tightly, Wanda soon wrapping her arms around the two of them.  Somehow, Xavier could feel the faint comfort Ryo felt at having them there with her._

_This last image faded out much slower than the ones before it, leaving Xavier once more in the grassy fields of her subconscious.  A deep frown was on his face from everything he had managed to learn.  This was not good.  He pondered the facts for a long moment before a brilliant idea came to mind.  It wasn't right, but it was the only thing he could think of to rectify the situation._

_The telepath closed his eyes and concentrated even harder, accessing the memories once more…_

The job done, Xavier opened his eyes once more, finding himself back in the infirmary.  He glanced down at his pupil; she was still sleeping soundly, without the slightest indication of anything amiss.  Convinced that he had thoroughly, he turned to leave.

Remy was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame.  His legs were crossed, his arms folded in front of his chest, and his expression unreadable.

To his credit, Xavier managed to keep extremely calm.  "Young Ryo was having somewhat of a nightmare." He explained.  "I feared that if she began to thrash around too much, she might risk reopening her wounds.  Therefore, I sent her into a dreamless sleep."  Time-wise, he knew such a reasoning could easily hold up;  because time travels much faster in the mind, his memory-scanning would have taken up less than half a minute entirely in reality.

Remy didn't say anything.  He simply continued staring at the Professor to the point where the older man was beginning to grow unnerved.  Not once did he betray his emotions, and Xavier was surprised to find he had no access to the Cajun's mind, making his thoughts impossible to read.  He didn't like it one bit.  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Remy broke the eye contact between them to retreat back to Rogue's bedside.

Xavier secretly let out the breath he had been holding before returning to his assessment of the situation.  He glanced back at Ryo once more.

"He'll want to know about this right away…"

TO BE CONTINUED…


	4. It's in His Kiss

_How do I love Thanksgiving break?  Not as much as Christmas, mind you, but quite a bit.  Gives be a time away from rehearsals, away from school…and more time to write!  Yay!_

**todd fan—**I'm glad you're not the only reviewer any more, too!  ^_^

**Neva—**Yup.  Ryo was friends with Wanda…_and_ Pietro.  Now what-oh-what am I to do with _this_ interesting development…*grins evily*

**ishandahalf—**Let's put it this way…you're not right, but you're not wrong either.  That the only hint I'm gonna give for now.  But until then…I give you chapter 4, staring Rogue and Remy!

**Lady MR—**Of _course_ I know Remy's an empathy.  What kind of Gambit fan would I be otherwise?  Glad somebody picked up on that.

**gambitgirl—**Remy's personality is gonna be based on something a little different, but every once in a while you should definitely see some Acolyte influence thrown in there.  Hey, at least he still has his Cajun accent…*glares accusingly at KidsWB*…unlike in _some_ instances I can think of….

**Sabrin—**Glad you like!  *proceeds to join her in cheering on Remy*

**Chaos—**Soon enough update for you? *looks nervously at an evilly-grinning _gambitgirl_* You're all ganging up on me, I swear!  Anyway, Remy's not living with the X-men.  That's why they were so surprised to see him at the infirmary doorway.  Hey, he _is _a master thief…

**[Random Quote: **"During the break, I installed some new safety features on my S.U.V.  Yeah, I took off the tires."**]**

Time seemed to move painfully slow that afternoon for Remy as he watched the resident doctor scramble back and forth between rooms in a feeble attempt to bring down Rogue's fever.  He was hesitant, at first, to let anyone near the girl, especially after his earlier confrontation with Xavier.  But it wasn't long before Hank's gentle nature and winsome personality had proven him worthy of the Cajun's trust, an honor he respected well.

The past few minutes, however, he had been over on the other side of the curtain to check on the other girl's bandages, leaving Remy a moment alone with Rogue.  For someone whose life revolved around danger, excitement, and the unexpected, he found himself strangely content just to sit by his love's bedside, occasionally toying with a few strands of her uniquely colored hair.  So much, in fact, that he hardly noticed when Hank returned.

"I'll be with you in a moment, my friend." He called out before turning to the wash sink.  Remy noticed a few traces of blood on the doctor's hands, wincing at the thought of what kind of wound must've been inflicted to still be bleeding that much.  

The room seemed unusually warm to Remy, and it took him a moment to realize why.  Because of the nature of his powers, he had always made it a habit to wear gloves, much like Rogue did, though his intentions were to protect objects rather than people.  He smiled at the sight of their clasped hands, this time separated by the material covering _his_ hand rather than hers.

_No need for dese t'ings,_ he thought to himself with a smile, temporarily realizing his hold to remove the gloves.  Once her hand was back in his, he brought it to his lips for a tender kiss.  It never ceased to amaze him how, even in her sleep, Rogue seemed to glow with radiance…

_Hol' de phone…_ Remy's eyes narrowed, then went wide with realization: _She **is** glowin'!_

"_NON_!" Remy stood up in a panic, knocking his chair over in an attempt to back away.  The noise drew Hank's attention immediately; he turned to see Remy a good distance away from the bed, breathing heavily and staring at Rogue as if she had suddenly sprouted wings. (Then again…)  He hurried over to the young couple, wiping his hands on what looked like a dish towel before tossing it aside.

"What is it?  What's wrong?"

Remy saw the glowing subside when he ended their contact, fading away before Hank could even notice.  He managed to regain control of his breathing, closing his eyes to regain composure before calmly responding.  "Not'ing's wrong, _Henri_." He swallowed once before continuing, feeling his heart rate drop back down, "_Je suis désolé _for de scare."  

Hank was about to question the boy further when a sudden groan coming from Rogue's general area caught both of their attentions.  "Ugh…could y'all keep it down a bit?  Ah'm tryin' ta sleep over hea'!"  Remy was at her side in an instant, finding a smiling Southern Belle there to greet him.

"How y' feelin', _p'tite_?"

"Better, Ah guess…an' don't ya _dare_ say 'Ah told ya so,' Remy Lebeau."

"_Moi_?" He asked, feigning innocence.  "Nev'r!"

Hank watched the exchange between them, a sense of fatherly pride washing over him.  He'd grown very fond of Rogue in all the time he'd known her, and was elated at the thought that she had found somebody who made her as happy as she appeared at that moment.  Remy was starting to grow on him a little, as well.  He almost hated to spoil the moment, but there was a task he whished to address while Rogue was still awake.

"I was wondering…could I have a word with the two of you?"

"Sure, Mr. McCoy." Rogue cheerfully responded for them both, sitting up in bed so she could see him better.  "What about?"

"Well, my dear, I'm rather curios as to the cause behind your surprising ability to make skin contact with Mr. LeBeau here." He explained as Remy sat on the bed beside her.  When it was apparent he had both of their undivided attentions, Hank continued.  "I do have a theory revolving around the nature of both your powers, that somehow his mutant abilities may play a key role, but I would have to see it in action for myself to be absolutely certain."

"In ot'er words, _mon ami_, y' wan' a demonstration." Remy stated.

"Yes, if you don't mind."  

Remy was more than happy to oblige to the good doctor's simple request.  Having played this scene (or some variation of it) numerous times before, Remy stood at the center of the room with his trademark smirk appearing.  This earned him a roll of the eyes from Rogue, but Hank eagerly motioned for him to continue.  With a snap of the fingers, the every-respectable Ace of Spades appeared between his middle and index fingers, acquiring a glowing charge almost instantly.  As his minor audience watched intently, the edges of the card began to char from the developing flames before Remy smoothly tossed it over to one corner of the room, where it was able to explode without doing much harm.

"Fascinating." Hank commented once the show was over, placing a hand to his chin in deep thought.  An idea came to him.  "Would you mind repeating your performance so that I might capture it on film this time?"  Remy simply shrugged.  Hank left the room for a few moments, returning with Evan's digital camera.  Once more, Remy charged up another card in front of a zoom lens, discarding it in the same manner as before.

"What are ya tryin' ta do, Mr. McCoy?" Rogue spoke up when the curiosity got the better of her.

Hank was in the process of fiddling with a few of the camera buttons.  "You'll see in a moment, my dear." He then turned to Remy without lifting his eyes from their current task.  "Now then…Remy, if I may call you that," Remy nodded his approval, "How would you describe your mutant powers?"

"De short version:  I blow _merde_ up."

A chuckle, then, "I don't suppose you would care to elaborate?"

Remy though about it for a moment.  What was that explanation he had been given a while back, when his powers had first manifested?  "Remy t'ink it be somet'ing t' do wit' turnin' de potential energy of an object t' kinetic.  Occurs t'rough de skin, like _ma belle __cherie_ here." Rogue blushed slightly at the name, but covered it up by lightly smacking Remy on the arm.

Hank smiled at the couple before eventually discovering the buttons he was looking for.  "Aha!  I should really have Spyke show me how to use this thing some time…" he murmured to himself before turning the small screen around for Rogue and Remy to see.  "Now then; observe the screen very closely."  He played the tape at normal speed.

"Ah still don' see what the big deal is." Rogue said as soon as it finished.

"Ah, but wait!"  He played it again; this time, in slow motion.

The action occurred much too fast for the normal eye to see, giving the illusion that the object appeared to charge itself.  Under slow motion, however, it was just barely possible to see Remy's _hands_ glow for a split second before the energy was transferred over to the card he was holding.  With this new development, the two younger mutants eagerly turned to their elder for further explanation.

"It would seem that Remy does not actually 'charge' objects, at least not in the way we originally believed.  Rather, he passes on the kinetic energy created beneath _his own skin_."  He paused, searching for the simplest wording to explain it.  "Rogue, we've always classified your power as absorbing the life force of a being, is that not true?  Well, consider if you will, the possibility that you absorb the person's energy—_kinetic energy_—upon contact.  This would also explain the draining feeling one experience immediately following."

Rogue grew more and more excited with ever word he uttered.  "But how does that explain the memories Ah get with it?  Or mutant powers?"  Only a few more pieces of the puzzle….

Hank smiled knowingly.  "Memories are technically images encoded in the brain, much as a scanned picture would be in a computer hard drive.  If part of the kinetic energy you absorbed came directly from the brain, it would be entirely possible that you connected with the energy _flow_ of that person's memories, therefore drawing pieces of them out as well.  The same idea would apply to a mutant power; you absorb the _memory_ of said power, thus giving your own mind the temporary belief you possess it yourself.  Almost like a form of self-hypnotism."

"Dat would make sense." Remy commented, nodding in understanding.

"However," Hank continued, barely able to contain his own excitement at such a revelation.  "Remy's powers consist of creating excess kinetic energy, and through the skin no less, passing it on to any object he touches.  Therefore, your own absorbing powers must trigger a sort of self-defense mechanism where his skin creates the energy necessary to take the place of what you would normally draw out from another person…"

"…canceling out mah powers!"  Rogue finished enthusiastically, eyes sparkling like a child's at Christmas time.

"Precisely!"

Remy voiced his own opinion, sounding more relieved than anything else.  "_Oui_, dat would explain everyt'ing." His tone did not go unnoticed by Rogue.

"What are ya talking about, Rem?" She asked curiously.  

In response, he wordlessly took her hand in his, both of them lacking in their usual gloves.  Giving her a quick squeeze, she smiled at the touch.  Within seconds, however, her expression turned to one of shock as she watched her pale skin take on a glowing, reddish-golden hue.  It wasn't until Remy let go that the luminosity faded away, leaving both Rogue and Hank (who was also witnessing this for the first time) with their mouths wide open.

"What…was that?" Rogue managed to choke out a few seconds later.  Hank was still speechless.

"Not sure exactly.  First time it happ'ned, I t'ought I had somehow charged y' up!" He gave a lighthearted chuckle, receiving nothing in response.  "…_Chere_?"

But Rogue grew suddenly distant, her eyes focused downward as she tried to absorb everything in.  She had been so excited—elated, even—at the though of finally being able to _touch_ someone, make physical skin contact, without the fear of hurting him.  It was almost a reflex to grow as close to that person as humanly possible.  The fact that she had unexpectedly fallen in love hadn't hurt either.   Now, for the first time since she and Remy had shared their first kissed, Rogue was beginning to feel an uneasiness about the situation.

_Ah knew it was too good to be true…_

"_P'tite_?" She faintly heard Remy calling out to her in a gentle tone, turning to meet his gaze with a vacant expression.  "Y' feelin' okay?"

"N-no…Ah'm pretty tired, actually." She answered, her voice sounding unusually timid all of a sudden.  "Could Ah have some privacy ta go back ta sleep?"  

If he was hurt, Remy didn't show it.  "O' course.  Remy needs t' be somewhere, anyway.  Glad y' be okay, t'ough, _Chere_…y' give Remy quite a scare for a bit dere."  He bent down to kiss her goodbye, but she turned away.  This time, the hurt _did_ show.  Rogue refused to look at him anymore, so instead he stood up and softly whispered to Hank: "Take care of her f'r Remy, _mon ami_, all right?"  The doctor gave a quiet nod, and the two of them left the room together; Hank towards where his other patient rested while Remy towards the mansion exit.

Once she was positive there was no one else left in the room, Rogue wrapped her arms around herself for comfort.  Finding the need for something to hold on to, she grabbed on of the spare pillows, holding it tightly in her arms and rested her chin down on top.  _Ah know it's not fair to Remy right now…but I just can't face him.  Not yet.  Not now.  _ She closed her eyes to keep them from tearing up.  _Ah guess it's true what they say…_

"Even the best things in life aren' free…"

TO BE CONTINUED…


	5. Youth of the Nation

_Originally, I considered this to be more of a filler chapter, a random burst of inspiration that came to me during Drivers Ed one morning, but by the time I was finished I realized it was my longest yet!  You see, I wondered what would happen if I started digging a bit deeper into the lives of the New Recruits, a group that has been greatly neglected in the past.  There are some pretty interesting stories possible if you only look…_

**Lady Trunks—**I did put a lot of thought into it, in fact.  I'm glad you're enjoying the fic!

**Neva—**Ooh…I know what a gamma ray is!  It's the highest energy, yet shortest wavelength, type of radiation!  ^_^ see?  I pay attention in Science class.  And speaking of…I though it might be worth mentioning that my theory was even verified by one of my science teachers.  Now, he doesn't know much about X-men, but from the hypothetical way I phrased the questions, he confirmed that it would be entirely possible.  BTW—there _will_ be more anti-Xavier, but little by little.  Keep your eye out for hints… ^_~

**Sabrin—**Yup.  Remy's an empathy.  Actually, that lil fact comes into play next chapter, as you'll soon see.

**Rynn—**I confused you?  Hmm…I tend to do that to people.  Note to self: if _you_ can't figure out what goes on in own head half the time, don't expect others to. (lol!) I promise to clear things up as I go.  Don't throw things; my room's a big enough mess as it is!

**gambitgirl—**Like I mentioned before, it was something I came up on my own…although there _will_ be hints of comic-influence later on.  You'll see what I mean.  Dear Lord, does mushroom-head NOT sound Cajun.  He doesn't have ANY accent!  *goes back to listening to audio clips of _XM:TAS_ Gambit* What ever happened to Chris Potter, hmm?  Why couldn't they get _him_?!

**beth—**Oh, lookie.  Someone else I confused…bad, Jennie, bad!  Ah, well.  Now these three _will_ be confusing, and I doubt it's gonna clear up anytime soon.  Please bear with me.

**Ore Goddess of Wonderland—**Romantic?  *rereads chapter* Eh…if you say so.

**ishandahalf—**[see commentary below]

**Lady MR—**Whoa! Slow down there, girl.  You rant almost as much as I do.  Lemme see how I can put this…. This so-called "catch" is really nothing that the normal girl would even consider, but then again Rogue's not exactly normal.  I'm trying to see things from _her_ point of view: confused, scared, and longing for something in her life where strings aren't attached.  Yes, I wrote her as being just a _little_ too melodramatic.  That was on purpose.  And since you asked sooooo nicely, I'll squeeze in a bit of Romy in the next chapter, tay?

To **SouthernGal** and **Dragonfire**: thanx for your reviews as well.  I love you all!  *Blows kiss* MUAH!  

**[Random Quote: **"To _assume_ is to make an _ass_ out of _you_ and _me_."**]**

Due to the shock of that morning's accident, as well as Rogue unexpectedly having fallen ill, the Professor allowed the rest of the mansion to take the day off.  A rare treat.  Logan had, of course, taken that as a cue to head off to the nearest pub while Ororo spent her afternoon in the garden up on the roof.  Many of the older kids had opted to spend the day outdoors; they still weren't allowed off the Institute grounds just yet, with the city still on mutant alert, but that didn't mean they had to spend all their time cooped up inside.

Tabby and Ray, on the other hand, had a much better idea.

"You have no idea how lucky you are to get your own room, Tabs." Her boyfriend commented from where he sat in the oversized armchair, surveying the medium-sized room with a fair amount of approval.  "With Roberto as a roommate, it's a wonder I ever get any privacy at all!"

"You're one to talk, Sparky." She quipped back, shutting the door behind her before joining him in the chair, positioned comfortably on his lap with his arms wrapped around her waist.  "Trust me, there's no such thing as privacy around here, private room or not.  You wouldn't _believe_ how often I have people barging in…usually Jubilee."

"This from the girl who blows open locked doors and soda machines." She grinned, smacking her boyfriend playfully before moving to get up.  But he easily caught hold of her arm, pulling the girl back down and forcing her to use the other arm as a weapon to free herself.  He caught that one too.  The couple was soon engaged in a mock tug-o-war, laughing in delight before Tabby finally managed to slip away long enough to make a break for it.  Ray caught up with her inches away from the bed, knocking them both onto the soft mattresses.

It took a minute for them to calm down before they could sit up, facing one another.  "I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard!" Tabby exclaimed between fits of giggles.  "Thanks.  I needed that." Wiping away the tears that formed from laughing so hard, she leaned in and kissed him.

At first, it was a simple peck on the cheek in gratitude, but before she had fully pulled back Ray met her lips halfway for another.  She smiled inwardly at his enthusiasm, but the kiss remained soft and tender, very innocent-like.  Within moments, however, he grazed his tongue over her front teeth, silently asking for her to open her mouth.  She happily obliged. 

Before long, the evil of hormones was beginning to take over, fueled by their initial lust.  While still being as gentle as possible, Ray grew a little more forceful.  A warning light in the back of her mind went off, but Tabby did the best she could to ignore it and enjoy the moment for what it was.  One hand trailed up her leg, finally resting just above her hip where smooth skin showed beneath her pink crop-top.  The touch sent shivers up her spine, but it wasn't until she realized that Ray was slowly—subtly—lowering her back down onto the bed that caused her to stiffen and pull away sharply, leaving them both gasping for air

"Is something wrong, Tabs?" Ray asked innocently, not understanding what had just happened.  He could feel her starting to quiver suddenly, rubbing her arms as she got up.

"No, it's nothing.  Just feeling a little…chilly, is all." Came the reply, "Maybe I should close the window." She did so, despite the unusually warm breeze drafting in for that time of year.  Even without Storm's influence, Mother Nature always like to play a twisted game with the residence of Long Island by issuing sporadic climate patterns that drove the meteorologists insane.

Once the lock was set in place, Tabby felt a strong pair of arms encircle her waist.  She smiled, enjoying the warmth that her boyfriend's touch always seemed to inflict upon her.  Leaning back against Ray's well-toned chest, she felt him rest his head atop her shoulder.  

"You sure you're feeling okay?" He whispered in her ear.

"Hmm?" She mumbled, lost again, enjoying the tickle of his breath.  "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good." He lightly kissed her on the cheek, earning a faint chuckle from her.  Gradually, Ray began trailing kisses down her neck, each one longer than the last, as she melted further into his embrace.  His hands practically took on a mind of their own, thumbs gaining hold of her front belt loops.  Her alarms went off again, though, as they started traveling up her shirt.  Eyes widening, she quickly jerked away, giving him a sharp slap before either of them realized what was happening.

Time seemed to freeze in that single instant.

Placing both hands to her mouth, covering both it and her nose as if trying to hide, Tabby shrunk back in fear as it all began to register.  Ray held his now reddened cheek with one hand, staring at her with a look of…anger?

"Tabby?" He questioned, taking a step forward.  But she just took one back, eyes wide.  She looked…scared.  Scared, timid, and (above all) suddenly very un-Tabby-like.  Then she took off like a rocket, locking herself in the adjacent backroom door.  "Tabby!  Tabby, open the door!"  He banged on it furiously, mixed emotions running through his head.  _What is going on with her?_

Inside, Tabby leaned up against the adjacent wall as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.  She could hear Ray's voice, clear as day, shouting from the other side of the door, but was too far gone to hear what he was saying.  Voices from long ago, those of her parents, rang too loudly in her mind as she relived the memories of her past….

_"Mommy?" Tabby nervously questioned, her ten-year-old eyes wide at the sight of the large bruise on her mother's cheek.  The young woman placed an ice pack gently to her cheek as she turned to her daughter.  "Mommy, what happened?" Her mother tried smiling as gently as she could, despite the pain.  _

_"Nothing for you to worry about, honey.  Daddy just got a little upset, is all."  One of her eyes was nearly swollen shut, the other from simple weariness; she seemed more delusional than conscious by then.  "You know what happens when girls like us don't give them what they want.  It's probably my fault, after all."  Speaking more to herself by then, Mrs. Smith staged over to the bed, flopping down in exhaustion.  "I mean, what else am I good for?"_

_A voice spoke up from the doorway.  "Nothing, that's what.  Listen to your mother, Tabby, she knows how it is." It was her father—drunk as always when coming home from the bar.  He hiccupped once.  _

_"How what is?" She asked timidly._

_Walking into the room, he paused briefly to give the girl a rough pat on the head.  "Women be good for only one thing: keepin' their man satisfied.  Just give 'em what they want, and maybe you'll even get what *you* want.  Remember that, and you'll always have a one up on the other girls in life…."  _

She never quite understood what it was her father tried to bestow on her until Junior High.  It was a very simple game: follow the rules, get the goods.  But at the time, it had never been more than harmless flirting, using the 'feminine wiles' God had so graciously endowed her with.  She never wanted to be in a relationship, not a serious one…but all that changed the day Ray Bezerker walked into her life

"Tabby, please open this door; I'm worried about you." Wait…_he_ was worried about _her_? "Look, I'm sorry.  What it was I did, I'm so very sorry I did it…but please, talk to me!"  There was a moment's pause, then a distinct *click* as the door unlocked.

She slipped through the doorway in a very cautious manner, her eyes staying glued to the ground.  "Why are you sorry?  You didn't do anything." She murmured once the door was shut behind her.  Ray had been standing there, utterly befuddled, but now his eyebrows raised in further confusion.

"Tabs, come here.  I think we need to talk." She wordlessly nodded without looking up. Gently, he guided her back to the edge of the bed so they could both sit down, placing his hand over hers and giving it a reassuring squeeze.  "Maybe I tried to push you, maybe you felt pressured.  I don't know.  But what I do know is that I would never—_never_—want you to think you have do something you don't want to just because I _do_."  

"But…you know about my reputation, Ray.  I mean, why else would you have wanted to go out with me?  It's what all guys want, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah—I mean, no!  I mean…" He stuttered for a moment, caught off-guard by her question, then sighed,  "That makes no difference whatsoever.  The point is, I know about your so-called 'reputation,' Tabs, but I've also come to know you _better_ than that."

"You mean I'm all talk, right?"

He smiled gently, tilting her head up to look at him with one finger. "You can put it that way if you want.  Tabby, do you know _why_ I asked you out in the first place?" She shook her head.  "It's because you're a beautiful, fun-loving, outgoing girl who's full of surprises and I wanted to get to know you better.  Nothing more, nothing less."  This earned a faint blush and a smile from her, at least.

Seeing her relax a little, Ray pulled her close for a tight sideways hug.  He placed a kiss atop her forehead.  "Now I'm not even gonna bother trying to figure out what's going on in that head of yours right now…but if you want to talk about it, I'd be more than willing to listen."

"It's just…when I was younger…" She shook her head then, as if trying to rid herself of the thought. "No, I don't think I want to go there just yet." She looked up at him, a spark of the old Tabby returning.  "Someday soon, Ray, I promise.  Just…not yet.  It still kinda hurts.

"Fair enough." Showing no signs of hurt at her wishing to remain silent, he allowed the girl to lean her head against his shoulder.  "I'll tell you what.  We'll take it slow for a while.  Ease into things until you feel more comfortable.  Sound good to you?"  She looked up at him, the appreciation showing in her eyes, and silently wondered what she did to deserve someone like him.

"Ray?" Tabby spoke up after a brief silence, her voice sounding like she was already close to falling asleep.  Most likely from emotional drainage.

"Yeah?"

She paused briefly.  "Let's just keep this between us for a while, okay?"

"Of course.  It'll be out little secret." He chuckled. "Wouldn't want to ruin your reputation, after all."

"Oh, shut up."  They laughed briefly before settling back into their position, her eyes fluttering shut.  She eventually fell asleep in Ray's protective arms with a much more peaceful look than he'd seen her with in a long while.  With extreme care, he placed her on the bed properly (even though she was still in her day clothes) and tucked her in.  With one final kiss on the forehead, he left the room.  As the door shut behind him, he frowned.

_I wonder what could've happened in the past to make her react that way?_ He silently mused, turning to head back to his own room.  _More importantly…what can I do to help her?_

With a sigh, Kitty shifted position in her bed once more, Lockheed still held tightly in her arms for comfort.  The afternoon had seemed to fly by (she could already see the first traces of sunset though the window), despite the fact she had remained unable to fall asleep.  A plethora of thoughts were running through her head a mile a minute, making it impossible to relax as Jean had suggested she do.  And then there was that little voice in the back of her head…

_Okay, I can remember us arguing, clear as day._ She thought to herself, her brows furring in deep concentration.  _I remember the shouting…the look of hatred in his eyes…but not what we fought about?  Why is everything so fuzzy?_

It was as if she had unintentionally blocked the entire situation from her mind completely.  Or else…

A knock at the door interrupted her mid-thought.  "Kitty?  C-can I come in?"  The voice sounded young and timid.  Jamie.  He waited about half a minute before taking it upon himself to open the door a crack, just enough to stick his head through.  "Kitty?"

"Yeah?" She forced herself to sit up in bed to greet him. "You can come in, Jamie."

The twelve-year-old nervously slipped into the room, wringing his hands behind his back and trying to look casual.  He kept his gaze more towards the floor than her, and a faint tint of pink was beginning to appear on his cheeks.  The sight of him looking so anxious brought a grin to Kitty's face; as an only child, she used to pray all the time for a little sibling to have around, and found herself looking to the younger boy as the little brother (or occasionally _brothers_) she never had.  He was just too adorable!

"Well, I—I mean—the gang was starting to get a little worried about you." He finally spoke up after finding his voice.  "You know, we haven't seen you all day, and after this morning…" She held up on hand to silence him.

"Thanks for the concern, Jamie, but I'm fine.  Honest."

"So, you're not still upset over…you know?" He saw Kitty visibly flinch, instantly regretting the words that had flown out of his mouth. _Stupid!  Stupid!_  "'cause, you know he was a loser, anyways, giving up someone as pretty as you over a stupid argument that you probably don't even both remember, and you deserve a whole lot better and shouldn't have to worry about what happened in the past and besides, Ray says there's a whole bunch of fish in the sea…or something like that, though why anyone would wanna date a fish is beyond me…"

"_Jamie!_" He took a big gasp of air as she finally cut off his incessant rambling.  "…did you just say I was pretty?"

His eyes went wide.  "Umm…did I?  Er…"  Kitty smiled knowingly and pushed herself off the bed, walking right up to him.  She bent down to meet him at eye-level.

"Listen, Jamie.  You're a really, really sweet guy." At this, perked up. "…but you're also, like, four years younger than me."  

Jamie's face fell dramatically.  "Oh.  I understand."  As he turned to leave, she felt a pang of guilt gnaw at her.

"Hey, Jamie?

He turned around. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for cheering me up." She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  His eyes went wide with surprise, placing a hand over where the skin still tingled from her touch.  In somewhat of a daze, he managed to mumble 'anytime' before wandering out of the room, luckily not bumping into anything.  Kitty closed the door behind him, giggling.  _He's taking advice from Ray now?  Oy, vey…_

"Good Kid.  _Bad_ influences."

As Jubilee and Rahne walked along, deep in the middle of a very animated discussion, the oddest sight greeted them.  Jamie Maddox, still dazed from before, staggered down the hall towards them.  He had a goofy grin on his face, despite having already run into the wall a couple times (spilling out a few clones in the process) before finally locating the stairs.

"…what do you suppose _that_ was all about?" Jubilee asked after a moment, breaking the silence.  Rahne shrugged and the two returned to their previous conversation.  "So what happened next?"

Rahne rolled her eyes, yet was unable to keep the smile off her face.  "What do you think?  He kissed me, then asked me on a date this weekend."  Jubilee squealed with excitement, ambushing the wolf-girl with a sudden embrace, almost knocking them both over.

"It's about time!"  She exclaimed.  "You two've been such good friends for so long, I was starting to grow impatient!"  Rahne laughed at her friend's over-enthusiasm, having grown used to it by then.  Ever since she and Bobby had first started dating, Jubilee was _determined_ to see the other two girls as happy as her.

Upon reaching their destination (Amara's and Rahne's bedroom), Jubilee knocked on the door.  "Hey, Amara…you in there?"  Silence greeted them.  Figuring she was either out or couldn't hear them, Rahne walked in anyway.  There—amidst a bed full of sheets and notebook paper, some written on and some blank—sat a very distant-looking Amara.  She was wearing headphone, explaining why she hadn't responded to them earlier, and chewing on the eraser of her pencil, apparently in deep thought.

Not one for being patient, Jubilee ran over to where her friend sat and jumped on the bed beside her.  "Hey!  Earth to Amara!"  Amara let out a shriek of surprise, pulling down her headphones upon realizing she was no longer the only one in the room.

"Jubilee!" She screeched, scrambling to save most of her papers from getting wrinkled.  "You startled me."

"Well, it serves you right for zoning out like that.  Anyways, you'll never guess what happened…Sam and Rahne are officially a couple!"

Amara's eyes went wide as Rahne wordlessly nodded with a faint blush.  "Really?  That's wonderful!"

"Of course you realize what this means, don't you?" Jubilee continued on, a familiar smirk appearing.  Amara raised an eyebrow, knowing what was coming next.  "You and Roberto are the only ones left who have yet to couple up!"  Yup.  That was it.  Rolling her eyes, she opted to turn her attention back to the papers in her lap rather than the risk of facing Jubilee, the demi-goddess of romance.  "Say…whatcha got there, hmm?"

"A letter."

Jubilee leaned in closer for a better look.  "Well, duh.  I can _see_ that." She managed to sneak a glimpse before Amara irritatingly pulled the sheet away.  "Who's Jesse?"

Amara kept her eyes focused downward, determined not to let Jubilee get to her.  "Someone from back home."

"Oh?  Is he your brother?"

She shook her head.  "I'm an only child."

"Cousin?" Again, a shake of the head.  "Friend?"

This time, the answer came hesitantly. "Sort of."

"'Sort of'?" Jubilee gave a laugh as she repeated her friend's cryptic answer.  "Don't tell me he's your boyfriend or something…" But her giggles ceased abruptly upon noticing Amara suddenly stiffen. "…oh, my God.  He is."

Amara did her absolute best not to burst out laughing at her friend's bewildered expression right there and then.  She inwardly sighed.  _I guess I can't keep it a secret forever…not from Jubilee, anyways._  "Not boyfriend.  Jesse is my…" _Oh, what's the word they use over here?_ "Fiancé."

There was a collective _*thump*_ as both Rahne and Jubilee simultaneously fell off the bed they had been sitting on.

"_FIANCÉ?!_" Jubilee manage to gasp out as she climbed back up next to a very confused Amara.  

"Yes.  That _is_ the word for one you are to be married to…isn't it?"

"Well, yeah…" Jubilee sputtered out.  Rahne was still in the process of finding her voice.  "But you're only _fourteen_!  How can you be engaged at fourteen?!"

Amara shrugged casually.  "It's tradition.  When a future heir to the throne is born, he or she is set up in an arranged marriage at birth.  Jesse is the eldest son of my father's dearest friend, and who had been born closest to the time of my own birth."

"Arranged Marriages?" Rahne finally spoke up, sitting back down (this time, on her own bed).  "That must be awful!"

A mischievous look appeared on the mutant princess' face.  "Oh, it's not _so_ bad…"

If there was one thing Jubilee knew, it was the opportunity for juicy gossip.  It didn't take much pleading from her before Amara caught the bug as well, happily divulging all the details with two of her best friends.  Jubilee and Amara already knew about Amara's royal heritage, as well as the fact that she was a real princess, so she was able to skip past all of that to the parts about her fiancé.

Jesse was about fifteen/sixteen years old and stood little more than a head taller than Amara.  He had jet-black hair, deep brown eyes, and richly tanned skin.  He was incredibly smart as well as strong, but also one of the sweetest guys she had ever known.  To the best of her knowledge, Jesse seemed almost as pleased with the "arranged" marriage as she was, affectionately calling her "'Mara" whenever they were alone (this little fact earned a happy sigh from both girls).  Growing up, they had been nearly inseparable and the best of friends.

"…he took the whole 'mutant' thing really well, too." She sighed happily in remembrance.  "'said it was just another way of proving how special I really am.  And when then Professor came to bring me to the Institute, he promised to write me every chance he got."

Rahne had long since joined the other two girls on Amara's bed.  "Has he written at all?" She asked.

"That's just it." Amara took on a sudden look of confusion, though there was some sadness hidden in her eyes as well.  "I got one letter a few days after I fired arrived here, so he obviously knows where and how to send them…but then, I haven't gotten another one since.  I write at least once a week and give my letters to the Professor so he can mail them off for me—since he was the only other person who knew about Jesse—so I _know_ he must be getting them…." Her voice trailed off.

Seeing her friend was close to tears, Jubilee wrapped her arms around her in a comforting hug, resting her head against Amara's shoulder.  "Hey, don't worry about it.  You know how messed up the postal service is these days; his letters are probably on their way right now."  Amara leaned her head against Jubilee's, managing a smile.  Rahne came over on her other side and joined in the group hug.

"I know." Amara sighed as she put her other arm around Rahne. "I just miss him.  And home, too."

Jubilee grinned.  "Look at it this way…it things don't work out with you two, at least you'll always have Roberto."

This prompted a fit of laughter from the three girls, the close bond between them crating a more lighthearted moment in spite of everything.

___________________  
TO BE CONTINUED…


	6. Touch 'em with Love

_Whew!  That certainly took a while, didn't it?  Sorry bout that;  first, FanFiction.net decides to suspend me for about a week because of a couple fics I wrote over a year ago, then I had problems with my laptop adapter (my dad fixed it! ^_^), then I went on vacation.  Boy, did I need a vacation.  Anyways, during the cruise my family took, I was able to find some quiet time to scribble down a few more chapters.  This one, I believe, will appeal very muchly to those of you Rogue/Remy fans who've been after my throat since chapter 4. _

klucky: Ain't Jamie cute?  Umm…Xavier's an evil jerk all right.  I'm not gonna say if you're right or wrong, 'cause it'll give some major plot away.

DaHippo: We **do** need more stories featuring the new recruits, don't we?  Yes, Tabby and Ray are a rather… _interesting_ duo.  

Neva: *grabs out dictionary* conniessur…conniessur…Ah!  I'm glad you like my approach.  Once again, I'm not gonna say anything.  Gotta leave **some** surprises for later, don't I? (yes, I got the Jamie crush thing from "Self Possessed", btw—and don't think I'm through with it yet!)

Eileen: Nice.  I made someone who can't stand Tabby pity her?  It's a start at least.  I know I wasn't gonna give away spoilers, but…do you think I would **really** so something like that to Amara?

todd fan: I'll do my best!

ishandahalf: You know, you should really patent that phrase; this is the second time you've used it in a review to me for this fic.  Oh, and I hope you're happy; Rogue and Remy weren't originally even supposed to BE in this chapter, but somehow ended up taking up over half of it!  I even had to move a bunch of scenes over into the _next_ chapter.  *sigh* An authoress' work is never done…

Lady MR: *counts* Yup, I think you got 'em all for now.  Once again, ain't Jamie the cutest little thing; I tried asking Marvel and KidsWB if I could trade him for my little brother (hey, they're about the same age), but they said no! Sniffle… Okay, here's the deal with RoLo.  I **am** a big RoLo fan, but it would be _really_ hard to slip it in here right now without drifting away from the plotline.  Gimme a few chapters, and I'll see what I can do…but I can't promise anything.  

Thanks to Chaos and Irina for your reviews, too!

**[Random Quote:** "You mean someone was actually desperate enough to become…_MRS._ Gambit?!"**]**

The next couple of weeks seemed to fly by for the Xavier Institute students.  Ryo's 17th birthday came and went and though she had _insisted_ on absolutely no party (not being too partial to them), a few of the girls had surprised her in the infirmary that morning with birthday muffins and presents.  The most surprising thing of all was the fact that _Kitty_ had made the double chocolate chip batch, yet they were the most delicious muffins anyone had yet to taste.

It was safe to say her cooking skills were definitely improving.

None of the students had been allowed outside the mansion gates since it had been rebuilt after the Sentinal episode, with the mutant alert still in high effect.  Even school had been put on hold, due to the increasing concerns of the community.  For days at a time, the Professor would be gone—sometimes taking along Storm or Wolverine, or even Beast—out speaking to various authority figures on behalf of the mutant population.  It took a lot of persuasion on his _own_ behalf:

_"How are we to know it's safe for our children to be around such dangerous weapons?"_

_Xavier gave a lighthearted chuckle. "Weapons?  They're not weapons; the majority of them are children as well, scared and outcasted because of something they were born with."_

_"But the Sentinals—"_

_"—attacked us, not you.  Has it ever occurred to you that we mutants could be more afraid of you than you are of us?  Why do you suppose we've remained hidden for so long?"_

_It was then another spoke up. "Then how do you explain the horrific display of weaponry and machines we discovered in the Xavier Institute basement?" he threw an array of pictures on the table as proof. "It looks like you had been preparing for war against humanity!"_

_Xavier remained calm, giving them all a knowing smile. "You said it yourselves before; many of these children are 'blessed' with unusual talents and-or powers.  It may seem strange to you, but these machines are simply methods of teaching these children to have control."_

_No one else seemed to come up with anything to say.  They looked at one another with blank, helpless expressions.  Xavier took this as a good sign and continued._

_"If there is still any doubt in your mind, come by the mansion some time.  I'm sure the children would be more than happy to give you a demonstration of what it is we do with these so-called 'weapons.'  Maybe you could even talk to a few of them, get to know just who it is you're considering a threat to society."_

One month later, the school board gave their approval for the mutants to re-attend public schools…on a two-week probation.

A knock at the window startled the two girls as they were getting ready for bed that evening.  Tomorrow would be the first day back at school, so the Professor has set curfew half and hour earlier than usual.  Still, they hadn't been expecting anyone.

Kitty, being the first to recover, walked over to the locked window to let their visitor in. "Hey, Remy," she greeted the Cajun as he climbed through. "We haven't seem you in a while."  As soon as he was in, she quickly closed the panes, shivering from the brief contact with the chilling November air.

"Evenin', _P'tite_.  How are y'?"

Now, many of her friends wouldn't hesitate in calling her a ditz, but Kitty Pryde certainly wasn't stupid.  She noticed the tension in the room almost immediately; though speaking to her, Remy refused to take his eyes off of Rogue, who (in turn) refused to even turn to meet him.  The younger girl took that as her cue to exit.  "Actually, I'm a bit hungry.  'Think I'll go raid the fridge for something before bed."

With that, she phased out the door, leaving the two Southerners alone.

The silence was near deafening.  It lasted for several moments before Remy spoke up, "How come y' been avoiding m', _Chere_?" blunt and to the point.

 "Avoidin' ya?" She had expected the question, but not his tone.  He sounded almost…hurt.  Still, Rogue continued turning down her bed for the night. "Now why would ya say somethin' like that?" But her voice quavered in the slightest.

"Y' know why." He took a step forward. "Remy haven' seen y' since dat evenin' in de infirmary.  I be worried 'bout y', Rogue."  The last bit came out almost in a whisper.

A warning light in her head flashed. "Y'all don't need ta be; Ah'm perfectly fine.  Goin' back ta school tomorrow an' everythin', ya know."

"Rogue…"

"Honestly, Rem, ya're just makin' a big deal outta nothin'," She laughed a bit nervously, inching towards the door. "That lil bug wore me out; Ah've been mostly sleepin' those past few weeks, anyways.  Haven' seen much've anyone, act'ally."

"Rogue…" he tried again, his voice getting slightly more desperate.

She was pretty close to the door now. "Y'know, Ah'm kinda hungry, too… 'think Ah'll go join Kitty in her kitchen-raid."  Remy sighed, and silence filled the room for a few long, agonizing moments.  There was only one thing left he could think of.

Her fingers were mere inches from the door when his voice rang out, calm but strong.  "Y' scared." She stiffened, completely halted in her tracks, "'s like y' been livin' in some kind o' dream world f'r so long an' sudd'nly woke up t' face reality."  Rogue turned to look at him for the first time that evening, "Dat be de feelin' I get, at least."

The look on her face was some cross between amazement and disbelief with more than a little confusion thrown in.  Hesitantly, she crossed the room until he was right in front of her, their eyes locked the entire time.  It was clearly evident to her these were more than just mere observations on his part.  "How do ya know all that?" she whispered. "How do ya know that's what it really is?"

"Dat lil card trick o' mine ain' de only one up m' sleeve," he managed to say with a grin before growing serious, "I also got dis t'ing called 'empathy'."

"Empathy?"

"_Oui_.  Sort o' like bein' a telepath, 'cept I only get y' emotions.  Usually, I c'n block it wit' shields an' stuff, but sometimes it tends t' sneak up on m' unexpected." When she didn't respond, he continued, "I didn' tell y' b'fore 'cause nobody knows 'bout it 'cept f'r me.  Not exactly somet'ing I be all dat proud of."

"But that's just it, Rem," Rogue finally spoke up.  Her voice remained just barely above a whisper and sounded a bit hoarse, though to her credit, it didn't waver. "This…empathy thing.  Just add it up as somethin' else Ah don't know about ya." Those they maintained eye contact, her gloved hand managed to find his and she held tightly to it for all it was worth. "Ah'm not gonna lie to ya, Remy; Ah'm scared.  Everythin''s been happenin' so fast, an' it took meh up 'till now ta realized that…Ah love ya, but Ah don't know the first thing about ya."

With his free hand, he gently stroked a few of her shockingly-white locks as she looked down. "I take it y' not in t' de whole 'Mystery Man' t'ing den?" He lightly joked.

"Remy…"

"Jus' kiddin', _Chere_."  He watched his fingers intertwine with a few strands at a time, able to feel their silkiness despite his own pair of gloves, and found that he had missed the touch of her hair more than anything.  It was so soft, so beautiful.  And it gave him an idea.

_Touch._

"Gimme y' hand, Rogue." He whispered.

"Hmm?" She looked back up. "What for?"

"Y' say y' don' know who I be?  Dis be a way f'r y' t' find out." He moved to take off her glove, "I'll hold off m' power long 'nough f'r y' to absorb some of m' mem'ries."

Her eyes widened in shock.  "Are you _crazy_!?"  Quickly, she pulled her hand away. "Do ya have _any_ idea what'll happen ta ya if Ah absorb ya?  Ah could _kill_ ya!"

"I know y' won', _Chere_.  I trust y'."  He stood absolutely still, determined to let her make the decision on her own.  She stood, staring at the boy in front of her for what seemed like an eternity, the wheels spinning in her mind.  Remy could see the internal struggle occurring through her emerald eyes.

Moments late, Rogue broke the silence, "Ah really hope y'all know what ya're doin', Rem.  If not, it'll be ya're funeral…literally…"

Slowly, she pulled off her right-hand glove, gently sliding the coarse material until it reached passed her fingertips.  Flexing her fingers now that they were out in the open, Rogue reached up to cup his cheek.  Almost immediately, the familiar glow took hold of her own skin, but what she found more interesting was the feel of coarse stubble on her fingertips from Remy not having shaved that day.  She almost smiled at the touch, but he did, nuzzling a bit into her hold before closing his eyes in concentration.  They both braced for whatever was about to happen next.

A spark abruptly occurred between the two, like a jolt of electricity passing between them.  The transfer was almost instantaneous, and threw them apart like the repelling of identical magnetic forces.  With her eyes clenched shut, Rogue found herself leaning up against the nearest wall for support.  Her breathing was coming in deep, labored gasps and she suddenly felt extremely warm.

"Remy…" she cried out, not knowing in what direction to look with her eyes closed, "Remy, mah hands…they're burning…"

Picking himself up off the floor where he had landed, Remy quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a number of his playing cards.  He was at Rogue's side in an instant, taking notice in the all-too-familiar bright red glow that had consumed her unprotected hand.  

Holding up the deck, he whispered to her. "Hold on t' de cards, _Chere_.  Dey absorb de energy."  She fumbed blindly for a moment before her hands made contact with the cardboard-like material, sighing in relief as she felt the burning sensation leave.  "T'row dem, quick!" Without further warning, she tossed the handful up into the air, hearing the faint fizzling sound of each card burning in mid-air, falling to the ground in a tiny pile of ashes.

With that crisis over, Rogue found herself hit with a sudden blast of images; lights and color, sound and smell, taste and touch…all her senses were attacked at once as Remy's memories swirled around in her head, trying to settle.  It took a minute or so before she could even differentiate between them.

Nevertheless, she saw everything.

He was twenty years old, just three years her senior (that, right away, had surprised her; she could've sworn he was older), and abandoned as a baby because of his demonic eyes.  Living much of his childhood on the streets of New Orleans (_That explains the Cajun accent_, she thought with a smirk), he survived by pick pocketing and shoplifting…until that fateful day he tried to steal from the wrong man.     

Or the right man, depending upon how you looked at it.

Jean-Luc, from what Rogue could depict, was everything she would never have expected from the leader of a thieving guild.  A loving foster father, he trained and honed Remy's pick pocketing skills, turning the frail boy into a modern day Prince of Thieves, but also provided a stable home and caring environment for him to grow up in, where he would become the muscular, agile Remy she had come to love.  She learned of Henri, Remy's foster brother and closest friend, and instantly knew where the boy had learned his devilish charms.  And there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she wouldn't _love_ to meet his foster sister-in-law, Mercy, as well as this fascinating woman he and everyone else called _Tante_ Mattie.

Then, there was Belladonna.

Rogue wasn't quite sure what to make of the girl.  Certainly, she was everything Rogue wasn't, and had apparently played a very important role in Remy's life at one time.  But the memory was short-lived, featuring little more than a Cajun backwards Romeo and Juliet-like story; though friends, there was no true romantic interest, even with the insisted proposal of marriage to join together his clan and hers—a thieving guild and Assassin's Guild.  

She wasn't quite positive, having not paid much attention in Literature, but Rogue could have almost sworn their was some irony in there somewhere. 

She saw the skyline of New Orleans on a clear night, the magnificent splendor of the French Quarters, and felt the comforting (if slightly unusual) surroundings in which he had grown up in, including those who had been a part of it.  She could taste the Cajun food served daily, including Remy's all-time favorite: Gumbo.  She also saw images of every victim who had been pray to his thieving, whether it be a mere apple from a cart or highly expensive valuables taken right out of someone's home.

But above all else, she saw what it was that Remy truly felt for her.  And it made her go weak in the knees.

"_Est ce vrai?_" She whispered to him, her eyes still closed, "Is all this real?"  She felt his hands reach for hers, guiding her back over across the room until they reached the window, slowly sitting down upon the sill.  Only then did she open her eyes.

Staring into those hypnotic pools of red-on-black, she barely noticed the thin stream of liquid that trailed down on cheek.  Remy gently brushed it away as he whispered, "As real as you and me, _Chere_." And just when she thought the moment couldn't have been any more perfect, he surprised her.  Reaching deep into one of his many trench coat pockets, the Cajun pulled out a small, velvet box, navy-blue in color.  It was slightly bigger than the size of her hands, she noticed as he placed it in them, and very flat.  

She must have been staring at the box for a little too long, because the next thing she heard was an amused chuckle. "Go on.  Open it."

With a slight _creak_, the box opened to reveal a beautiful, hand-crafted necklace, the likes of which she had never seen before.  The string was covered in cubical-shaped pearls which, at a closer look, were designed to look like miniature dice, each with different colored dots on them (the colors, she suspected, must have been made out of different jewels).  But the pendant hanging from it was, by far, the most magnificent of it all: a fully colored, inch-long rectangle designed to look like a playing card.

The Queen of Hearts.

Rogue almost burst out laughing at the sight of it.  _Not very original in card selections, is he?_ But found herself too enchanted by the delicate carvings.  "It's beautiful, Remy." She murmured in awe for a moment before looking up with an inquisitive smirk. "Y'all didn't, by any chance, happen' ta steal this, did ya?"

He feined a look of hurt. "_Moi_?" 

"Don't ya try that innocent look on me, Swamp Rat," she grinned, "Ah saw ya childhood, 'member?"

Remy smirked at the new nickname, remembering immediately where it had originally come from.  "Did I steal de necklace?  _Non._  But de money t' buy it…well…_peut-être_."

A part of Rogue told her that she should have been angry at him, but she just couldn't bring herself to do so.  _Damn boy's too cute for his own good._  Instead, she opted for shaking her head with a sigh. "What am Ah ta do with ya, Remy LeBeau?"

"I have a list, but I left it in m' ot'er pants."

Not expecting the witty reply, she gawked at the smirking boy for a moment before playfully whacking him on the shoulder.

A bit later, Remy left, once more through the window, with a rather strange message for her, something that didn't make sense to her now but would later on.  Shaking off the paranoia which had suddenly come over her, Rogue wearily climbed into her turned-down bed.  She was more tired than she had first thought, most likely due to her recent illness.  Fiddling one last time with the necklace (and knowing it would quickly become a habit), she carefully took it off and placed it on her dresser so it would be the first thing she would see when morning came.  

Kitty returned soon after, glass of water in hand, to find her roommate sound asleep and looking more peaceful than she had in weeks.

"Pleeeeeeeease!"

A humorous sight greeted Rogue as she headed down the stairs the next morning, necklace around her neck.  Ryo (having been let out of the infirmary two days prior) looked close to getting down on her hands and knees in front of Scott, who refused to budge.  She wore her black high-tops and denim Capri's, but an oversized grey sweatshirt took the place of her usual top, no doubt to cover up the large bandages she still needed for her back.  

Ray had already taken Tabby, Robert, Rahne, Sam and Amara off to school and Evan had left earlier that morning so he could skateboard; that left Jubilee, Bobby, Kitty, Jean, Scott, and Kurt (who was conspicuously absent at the moment).  And Rogue herself, of course.  "What's all the racket down hea'?" she spoke up once she reached the bottom steps.

"Ryo's trying to convince Scott to let her go to our school." Kitty whispered to her roommate, not taking her eyes off the display in front of her.

Scott sighed. "For the last time, Ryo, the Professor already ruled against it.  Your powers are still too unstable for you to be able to attend public school.  Don't forget; we're only allowed there on the condition we _don't_ use our powers, even by accident."

"Oh, come on!" Ryo groaned in protest.  With her hands on her hips she walked towards Scott, glaring at him. "Now you listen to me, Scott Summers.  I have been here for close to two months now.  I _think_ I can manage to keep my powers in check enough to go to _school_."  It was quite a sight to behold; though she was just barely a year younger than him, he still towered over her in height…yet she faced him head-on.  It almost worked, too, until Kurt appeared.

Literally.   

In a puff a smoke, Kurt bamfed into the room right in front of Ryo, startling her.  The vase on a nearby table exploded as she threw her hands up in surprise, accidentally shooting a sonic blast.  She winced at the sight of broken porcelain, then hesitantly turned back to Scott with the same expression.

He raised an amused eyebrow.  "Keep them in check, huh?"

"I…ooh!" She squealed angrily, stomping her foot.  She then turned to Kurt, pointing an accusing finger. "This is all _your_ fault!"  With that, she stormed out of the room..

The Fuzzy Dude blinked in confusion for a moment.  "What'd I do?" he asked to no one in particular.  Bobby walked over to him and placed a friendly arm around his shoulder.  

"Don't worry about it, Kurt.  It's probably just that time of the month or something."

"_I heard that, Drake!"_ Ryo's voice shouted from the next room.  Bobby visible gulped, earning a chuckle from the rest of the group.

Scott stepped forward, keys dangling from one finger. "Well, now that that's settled," he addressed the group, "Those of you who want a ride to school, we're leaving now."

Everybody headed towards the door.  Bobby soon followed, cautiously looking over his shoulder. __

___________________  
TO BE CONTINUED…

*note—In case you couldn't tell, I gave mushroom-head many similarities in his past to the original Remy from the comics.  The majority of it all comes from memory, being _such_ a Gambit fan as I am, but obviously I had to switch and alter a few things around to "Evo-ize" _Monsiuer_ LeBeau.__


	7. School House Rock

_*sniffles* I need some cheering up this week, people—I took my road test on Tuesday, and the mean lady not only flunked me for no reason (I did everything right, but she made up reasons to make me fail), but she almost made me cry!  To make myself better, I spent a good portion of my time working on this chapter.  I like this chapter.  Hopefully, you like it too._

Livewire: "mmm…tastes like chicken!"  lmao.  That's a rather…unique comparison.  And thanks for the offer; if I get stuck in my French, I'll be sure to send for your help.  And don't be afraid to correct me if you spot a goof-up. (Like I said; I have enough grammer trouble in _English_)

Eileen: Guess what?  I love it, too! ^_^

Vagabond: ooh…fresh blood!  Don't worry—from what I've seen, you're not the only Romy-addicted person on this side.  And I doubt you're the only person to learn about him from websites and fanfics.

Neva: He is a mushroom head!  I'd love more than anything to be able to update every other day, but unfortunately I have to settle for whenever I can.  I'll try for at least once a week/week and a half.

Dragonfire: I thought I answered this question already.  Oh, well, maybe I just forgot to.  No, Remy doesn't live at the institute.  But he _is_ (or has been) a rather frequent visitor for…obvious reasons.

Pyromaniac: (absolutely LUV the penname, btw!) Me, give up _this_ story?  Not a chance!  I've gone as far as to start plotting it's _sequel_, I'm so into it.  Glad you like it, too.

todd fan: Good to BE back!  Yeah, ff.net's being such a pain, and in the weirdest ways, too; in one review of mine, it completely edited out two words!  Apparently, you're not allowed to html italics in review boxes, because it just removes the words all together!

Chaos: Eep!  Sorry 'bout the delay…I've been REALLY busy.  As in, so busy I start my mornings at seven, and sometimes don't see my house until nine or ten o'clock at night.  The necklace bit was also a last-minute add-in to the scene, which was a second-to-last-minute add-in itself.  

ishandahalf: Ah, yes; my brother is also an avid Simpson's fan.  More mushiness?  I'll see what I can do.  In the mean time, I hope this chapter can sustain you.  Got a bit of Jamie cuteness in there, too.

Lady MR: Just for you, I did my best to stick a smidgit of RoLo in.  It's not much, but I don't really have much to work with.  I'm glad you like Ryo—she seems to be little more than comic relief right now, but will play a larger role later in the story.  Okay, answers:  Remy (in my version) doesn't officially work for Magneto, but he is in a somewhat work-alliance with him (meaning the Magster doesn't have control over him).  I considered for a while whether or not I wanted to parallel all of "Self-Posessed" and finally came to the conclusion that no, Rogue's powers won't go insane, although she will still be suffering from more and more intense side-effects.  There are quite a few episodes I'll at least partially incorporate in here as well.  And as for Mystique: you'll find out in this chapter, now won't you? (Personally, I like the sound of Mrs. LeBeau, too, but I think the name would sound even better on Rogue, don't you?)

**[Random Quote:** "Ooh…they'll be singing soprano into their eighties." "Good.  We Russians LOVE opera!"**]**

Jean agreed to take Bobby and Jubilee to their school, since it was at least ten minutes away from Bayville High and she had first period off, anyways.  That left Scott to drive Kurt, Rogue and Kitty, the latter of who seemed fairly distant that morning.  With a knowingly look of reassurance from Jean (who was kind enough not to say anything to the others), she phased through the back left car door.  Rogue followed suit on the right, lost in a euphoric world of her own as she fiddled with her pendent, while the Fuzzy Dude claimed shotgun.

Heading towards the mansion gates, there was an eerie silence in the air.  Kurt had his headphones on, listening to some popular German song no one else had ever heard of before, and the backseat passengers were unusually quiet.  Scott glanced at the two girls through the rear-view mirror, taking his eyes away from the driveway for a second.  

"Scott, look out!" Kurt cried out suddenly.  A squirrel was right in the middle of the car's path and Scott had to swerve quickly, just barely missing the tiny little animal.  

When the apparent danger was over, he breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close," he commented to no one in particular, then waited for Kitty's whining about having almost killed a poor, defenseless animal.  When it didn't come, he considered himself lucky for the moment; then turned his attention to Kurt, who was staring out the window back towards the mansion.  He raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

Kurt turned his sights back to the front of the car, staring straight outward with a weird look in his eyes. "I must be going crazy; I could have _svorn_ I saw zat squirrel shake a fist at us." Resisting the urge not to laugh, Scott glanced in the mirror once more as they pulled up to the end of the driveway.

It was like an episode of _The Twilight Zone_: the normally perky valley-girl was so quiet and solemn, while the residential Goth was…well, Scott wasn't quite sure _what_ Rogue was this morning.  She had a somewhat glazed look in her eyes and refused to let go of some necklace pendent he had never seen before, smiling down on it as if it were a precious treasure.

"That's a very lovely necklace, Rogue" He spoke up, "Is it new?"

"Mm-hmm," she answered without bothering to look up.

Scott expected her to say something more, but when she didn't, he queried further. "Did…a friend give it to you?"

"Y'all could say that," came the mysterious response.  

Realizing he wouldn't get anything more out of her, Scott carefully pulled out of the lot.  Kitty turned her head towards the girl briefly, having been drawn by the tone in her voice.  She took a good, hard look from where she sat at the lovely design, then looked up to meet Rogue's eyes. "_Remy?_" she mouthed, and received a nod in response.  With a faint smile of happiness towards her best friend and roommate, Kitty Pryde turned once more to the window and continued to dread the day ahead.

Meanwhile, back at the Institute,  Ryo was bored out of her mind.  Classes didn't start until ten o'clock—more than two hours from then.  She had already spent the past half hour lounging in the Rec room watching reruns of some old cartoon about canine superheroes (which, surprisingly, had been hilariously entertaining).  Deciding she was hungry, the young blonde resolved to go forge some food from the refrigerator.  

An oddly amazing sight greeted her.  About half a dozen or so Jamies had taken over the kitchen, hustling in about in what looked like an attempt to make breakfast.  One was buttering a stack of toast, another was working the juice machine, another poured two bowls of cereal, while yet another was slicing up some bananas. The main Jamie (who was flipping pancakes over the stove) gave a wave to the girl as she entered.

"Hey, Miss Ryo!"

"_Hey, Miss Ryo!_" the Jamie clones echoed simultaneously, then returned to their task.

Ryo watched, impressed, as the twelve year old craftily fixed two setting at the counter by means of yet anther clone. "Wow…" she blinked, "…that's handy!"  She moved to sit at the counter, and all the other Jamies collected together, becoming one little boy again.  He walked over to the table with two plates and took the seat opposite her with a grin.

"Hope you like chocolate chip."

The two ate in silence for a few moments—Jamie, from a somewhat awkwardness at having company…and Ryo, from just wishing to savor each bite (he may be considered the "baby" of the group, but the boy could _cook_!)—before Jamie found the courage to ask something that had been plaguing his mind. "Miss Ryo?"

She looked up. "Yeah?"

He swallowed another bite before continuing. "I was just wondering…are you mad at Spyke for some reason?"

"Am I mad at him?" The question caught her by surprise, "Why would you ask something like that?"  

"Well…" he began hesitantly, but then saw the she wasn't angry.  That reassured him a little. "See, he's been acting really weird since you got out the infirmary.  Everytime he sees you coming, he bolts, and he checks to make sure you're not around.  I thought that maybe…for whatever reason…he might be scared of you."

"_Scared of me?" Ryo started laughing, but almost instantly stopped. "Actually…I could see that happening.  But don't worry," she continued on with a smile, "I'm not mad at Evan.  'Got no reason to be."_

"Oh." Silence took over once more, and Ryo stared curiously at her plate for a moment. _Now why would he be avoiding me?_ She wondered._ I haven't even seen him since…_ and that's when it dawned on her._ The Accident!  Of course; he must still feel bad about what happened. _She frowned._ There's gotta be something I can do to fix that....  _

While she was silently figuring out a way to get her fellow X-man to start talking to her again, Logan walked in the room.  Well…stormed in, was more like it.

"Come on, Short Stuff" he said to Ryo, "Xavier wants you do to a little bit of control practice before classes."

"_Now?_" She whined.

He gave her a stern-hard glare that pretty much meant he hadn't had his morning coffee yet. "Yes, _now_.  Suit up and meet me in the Danger Room in five minutes." With a groan he had heard come from all New Recruits before, she stood up…then grabbed her plate.

"Fine.  But if I go, so do the pancakes."

He rolled his eyes and muttered something incomprehensible. "Whatever."

The halls were filled to the maximum with students on either side, but nobody spoke.  It remained completely silent as all eyes were on the four students—one senior, two juniors, and one sophomore—as they walked together up the front stairs.  But these eyes, they weren't filled will fear, oh no.  They were filled with…a _fascination_ of some sort.  Whispers and girlish giggles erupted as the quartet made it through the doorway and parted ways.

Kurt headed straight for his locker, when someone caught the corner of his eye.  Forgetting his surroundings for a moment, he headed towards the one person he had missed more than anything during the past few months.

Amanda had been in the middle of opening her locker, oblivious to her current surroundings, when she suddenly found a pair of strong, warm arms wrap around her waist.  Fuzzy arms.  She gasped in surprised, which quickly turned to a blissful grin.  "I missed you, _Fraulein_," a familiar German accent whispered into her ear.  She quickly turned to greet the person it belonged to."

"Kurt…" she whispered, embracing him tightly before pulling away, "How have you been?"

He gave her a loving smile.. "I've been okay, considering it's been months since I've seen you last."  He brushed a few strands of hair covering her face.  In the process, a rather nasty looking bruise on her cheek was revealed. His expression immediately took on one of concern. "Oh, 'Manda…what happened?" 

She pulled away suddenly, seeming very intent on covering the black-and-blue mark and looking away. "I-it's nothing." She tried to laugh it off.  He didn't waver. "Really; just some minor catfight I got caught up in, that's all."

Kurt's expression grew more solemn. "Zis wouldn't have anyzing to do with you being ze girlfriend of a mutant, would it?" She didn't reply, and he had his answer. "Tell me what happened."

"I don't think—"

"Amanda." He cut her off, his voice soft but full of power.

Slowly, Amanda put her hand down and leaned against the lockers for support.  She allowed Kurt's fuzzy fingers to gently caress the bruise, but refused to look him in the eye. "I don't remember much, but about a week ago, a bunch of girls walked up to me…cheerleaders, I think.  You know, that group Jean hung around with." She paused, and Kurt nodded for her to continue. "One of them asked if I knew I had been dating a 'freak.'  I told her no, that I wasn't dating a freak, I was—_am_ dating Kurt Wagner and couldn't be happier about it.  That made her mad for some reason, and the next thing I knew…"

She leaned her forehead against his upper chest, closing her eyes. "It's not as bad as you think.  Principal Kelly broke up the fight almost immediately; he saw everything, so I didn't get in trouble.  It's just…"

"I know," he wrapped his arms around her, resting his head atop hers, "I'm so sorry.  I should have been zere for you."

She managed a smile. "It's not your fault, Kurt.  You've had worse problems of your own to deal with; don't blame yourself.  I chose to be with you, knowing what I was bound to get myself into, and haven't regretted it for a single moment.  Not even then."  Words like that only made him love her even more.  He leaned his head down and pressed his forehead to hers with a smile.

"I'll tell you what; zis weekend, you _und_ me spend ze entire day together. Make up for lost time.  Forget about all zis nonsense _und_ have some fun, _ja_?"

A small giggle erupted from her throat as she found herself just glad to have her Kurt back. She kissed him.  "It's a date."  Giving her a moment to retrieve her books, the two of them headed off to class together.  A few people stared; one or two girls even smiled at the sight of them.

On their way, they caught up with a very confused Rogue. "Hey, Rogue." Amanda greeted her, "That's a really pretty necklace."

"Thank ya," she replied, though she seemed rather preoccupied. "Have y'all seen Risty today?  Ah can't seem ta find her."

Neither of them had.  

She had already checked most of the school, including Risty's homeroom (twice).  Normally, Rogue wouldn't have been so conscious of her friend's absence, but she had heard earlier that morning that Risty had disappeared shortly after the Sentinal incident.

Was Risty a mutant, too?

_Now that I think about it, it could be possible,_ Rogue had pondered as she headed out back to check the picnic grounds.  After all, she had managed to keep her own powers a secret for quite some time.

Her thoughts were interrupted as her vision suddenly went pure white.  She nearly screamed out in surprise as a sudden flow of memories ran through her mind all at once.  She could feel absolutely nothing, not even pain, and could barely see her hand in front of her face.  Neither could she hear the surprised cries of her friends.  Falling to her knees, Rogue had little choice but to allow the flashes to play out…

She saw past memories of Kitty celebrating _Hanukkah_ with her parents, including lighting a menorah…

She saw, through the eyes of Toad, the first time Wanda had been introduced to the Brotherhood…

She saw images of a much younger Mystique holding a tiny child, no more than four, whose face was obscured by a thick hood…

She saw Risty and her hanging out at a party...no…the Sadie Hawkins dance…

"Rogue? …Rogue?" Kurt's voice brought her out of her trance, "Rogue?  Are you all right?"

She shook her head and looked up.  Kurt was on one side of her and Amanda was on the other.  Together, the two of them helped the young girl to her feet.  "Ah think so." She managed to reply, holding one hand to her head, "Just a few extra memories Ah needed to get rid of, Ah guess."  _Although I don't remember ever havin' touched Risty…_

Amanda paused. "What did you see?"  

"Nothin' import'nt, just a few flashes.  Ah really couldn't tell one from the other." 

Kurt, on the other hand, wasn't so quick to dismiss it. "Maybe we should walk you to class, Rogue…and zen later, you'll see ze Professor about zis?"

But something told her she _shouldn't_ see the Professor about this.  Something that Remy had said the night before, right before he had left…

_"Whatever y' do, Chere, don' trust anyt'ing.  Not even y' t'oughts…"_

He told her it would be quite some time before he could come back to the Institute again—something to do with his strong mental shields being a danger for him.  The necklace was somewhat of a Christmas Present, seeing as it was unlikely he would see her again before the New Year (that had upset her somewhat; it meant going more than two months without seeing Remy again).  It made very little sense to her at the time—still did, actually.  However… 

"No, Ah'm fine.  Ah wouldn't want ta bother him with somethin' so trivial as a few flashbacks."

"Are you sure?" Amanda asked her.

"Positive." She cut off Kurt's attempts to protest. "Now come on, y'all, or we're gonna be late!" The three of them together headed to homeroom.  On the way, they passed by Duncan and Taryn.  Together.  He held a possessive arm around her waist, while she proudly sported his jacket over her usual wardrobe.  A smug look of triumph dominated their facial features.

Kurt and Rogue's eyes went wide. It took a moment before Rogue finally spoke up for the two of them.

"That's…new."

"I know," Amanda said, doing her best not to laugh. "They've been together for over two months now. I can't wait to see how Jean and Scott take it."  

Ryo sat Indian-style with her hands over her knees on the floor of the Danger Room in deep meditation.  An empty plate smeared with chocolate and butter sat off to the side.  She had her training uniform on, and her hair was let loose so that the weight of her ponytail couldn't interfere.  Her breathing came in smooth and flowing, almost silent as she stared out directly in front of her, hardly blinking.  She could easily sense Logan circling her every few seconds.

"That's very good," he commented, quietly so as not to break her concentration, "Keep yourself relaxed; don't tense up."

She took that as her cue to continue.  Closing her eyes, she lifted her hands until they were right in front of her, palms facing each other.  Her fingers flexed once or twice to loosen them up.  She held that position for close to a minute before it began.  

Right in the middle of her palms, a sudden wave—just barely visible to the naked eye—began to take shape.  It looked like a giant ball of heat, but the two occupants in the room could clearly hear the soft high-frequency pitch it gave off.

"Now try to spread it out."

Beads of sweat were beginning to collect on her forehead as she slowly pushed her hands together, then pulled them apart with remnants of the sound waves circling each hand.  Her arms moved straight outward until they were parallel with one another.  She concentrated hard, and the waves began to spread out.

"That's it.  Imagining them forming a barrier.  A protective wall of sound."

_Couldn't you just say "sound barrier" like everyone else?_ She thought.  Unfortunately, taking her mind way from the task at hand, even for a second, caused her to loose focus.  Before Ryo could figure what was happening, the energy in front of her took off like a rocket, throwing her on her back and nearly blowing Logan's head off.  It did succeed in creating two very nicely-shaped dents over in the upper left corner of the far wall.

"Aw, damn it!" she cursed while getting up.  In frustration, she banged her fists against the ground, creating two more craters. "This is _stupid_; I'm never gonna get it right!"

Logan growled, bending down to look her straight in the eye. "That is _NOT_ the attitude I want to hear, understand me?  You keep thinkin' like that, and you _WILL_ fail."

"Logan," a voice came from the control room, "Perhaps if you tried not to take it so seriously…"

He looked up at the room with his trademark scowl, folding his arms. "And what would you suggest, 'Ro?"  His question was answered with a gust of wind as the weather goddess floated herself down to greet them.

She first turned to Ryo with a smile. "Good morning, child."

"Mornin', Ororo." She replied, still on the ground.

Ororo moved to help the younger girl up off the ground, "You mustn't expect to gain perfect control in such a short time.  Even a majority of the others here still have trouble once in a while." She tried not to laugh, but a small chuckle managed to escape her lips. "And don't let Logan intimidate you…he likes pulling the old tough-guy army routine, but underneath he's a big softie."

Logan raised an eyebrow at that last comment.

"But I can't even do something as simple as create a sound barrier!" Ryo sighed, "Not to mention the dozens of things I blast and shatter each day." 

Ororo gave the young girl a motherly smile, placing one hand on her shoulder. "That's why you are here with us now.  It will all come to you in time.  Sometimes…" she was speaking to Ryo, but glancing upwards at Logan with a smile. "Sometimes, you may find yourself strongest when trying to protect someone you love."  Wolverine managed to crack a grin of his own.

_A lot of good that does me._ She thought to herself, but didn't say so out loud.

"Now then," Ororo backed up a bit, standing next to Logan.  "Let's try it again, with the _two_ of us supervising."  Heaving a sigh, Ryo sat back down on the floor.  She closed her eyes and began the process all over again.

By fourth period, Kitty's spirits were beginning to lift.  A majority of her classmates, while she had been expecting complete isolation, were suddenly opening up to her more warmly than ever.  Twice, she had even been asked to demonstrate her phasing ability…it would have been more, if she had been allowed to agree.  Still, it was a completely new feeling to the young girl—so much, that it overshadowed her earlier fear.  

Of course, there was the little matter of cheerleaders and football players ignoring her completely, either acting as if she didn't exist or sneering down on her…but that was nothing new.

It was on her way to Chemistry when it happened.

Kitty had been preoccupied with checking her books to make sure she had grabbed the right ones; the events that morning had yet to register and were still floating around in her mind.  She wasn't watching where she was going and before she realized it, she had accidentally bumped into someone.  Her papers spilled everywhere and she was thrown backwards but didn't fall. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, "I didn't see you co—" but then looked up.

It was Lance.

Their eyes locked, more in shock than anything else.  Time seemed to freeze over, and there was no one else but the two of them.  A number of emotions flowed through Kitty's mind in those few seconds, each one clearly evident in her eyes.  embarrassment…surprise…recognition…awkwardness…and for a split second, Lance could have sworn he saw a faint glimmer of happiness in seeing him.  He decided to try his luck.

"H-hey, Kit-Kat." He said, using his special nickname for her.  He tried giving her a welcoming smile, but it seemed she had broken out of the trance at the mere sound of his voice.

Her eyes grew cold as she suddenly remembered everything.  "You have no right to call me that anymore." She whispered harshly, bending down to retrieve her things.  He moved to help her, but she sharply pulled away and stood up. "Why can't you just leave me _alone_!" She cried out, and ran off in the opposite direction.  

Jean was at the end of the hall right on the corner, and had seen everything.  She took the younger girl, wrapping a sisterly arm around her, and gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze in reassurance.  Lance couldn't hear what was said, but it wasn't hard to miss the venomous glare Miss Grey threw in his direction before guiding Kitty off to her class down a different hallway.

His fists clenched so tightly the earth shook for a second or two, drawing the attention of a few roaming students.  But he ignored them all.  "Screw this," he muttered, and headed towards the school exit.  He saw no point in staying the rest of the day—unlike the X-geeks, he and the other brotherhood members (those who had bothered to show up) were regarded as less than scum, even more so than ever before.

It just wasn't fair.

That afternoon, as Evan skateboarded home, his mind drifted back over the course of the day.  He still couldn't get over it—no one could.  Aside from the "popular" crowd (who were obviously more than a little jealous at all the attention being driven away from _them_), the entire student body treated them all as superheroes of some kind.  They had become their own social clique in school.  One freshman even walked up to him during lunch, asking for an autograph!  Sure, the teachers acted a bit more frightened around them now when they walked into a room, but he could deal with that.  _Maybe even have a little fun…_ He chuckled evilly.

About three blocks away from the mansion, Evan saw Scott's convertible driving down the road.  He waved to the passengers inside, then hitched a ride by grabbing hold of the trunk as it passed by.  Riding the rest of the way home, he didn't let go until they reached the garage.

Scott immediately got out and walked over to Evan.  "What did I tell you about doing that, Spyke?" he asked, though it came out sounding less angry than he had intended.

"Hey, come on; chill, Scott," Evan casually replied as the others exited the car. "It was just three blocks.  No harm, right?"  Scott sighed and shook his head.

"I guess not.  Just don't go it again."

"You got it man." Even replied as he checked his watch.  Kicking up his skateboard, he held it under one arm and looked around nervously. "I think I'll—uh—go in through the back, guys.  See ya later!" He turned to leave, making it a few short steps before Kurt's voice rang out.

"You know, you are going to have to face her sometime." Evan winced at the accusations but kept going.  About a minute or so later, he reached the door.  Somewhat paranoid, he carefully opened it with a creak, then slipped inside.  As soon as the door was shut, he turned around…and found him face-to-face with the one person he had been trying to avoid.

Ryo.

__________________  
TO BE CONTINUED…


	8. Starry Eyed Surprise

_Aha!  After watching and re-watching the episode "Day of Recovery" I have finally found something I didn't think existed: possible Ray x Tabbitha evidence!  Watch the scene where they first climb down into the sewer to meet up with Calliban…Tabby clings to his arm like there's no tomorrow!  Yeah, so it's not much, but it's SOMETHING.  And while we're on the subject—watch Xavier's expression at the VERY end of "Blind Alley"…see? HE IS EVIL!  EVIL, I TELL YOU!!!_

_Yay!  I **do** love three-day weekends, don't you?  Not that it matters much anymore when it comes to my writing…I've taken up the [bad] habit of carrying my notebook with me and scribbling down a few lines every second I get, whether it be in class, during lunch, or in between scenes at play rehearsal. I can't help it; I've become addicted to this story!  ^_^  Don't worry about my grades, they couldn't possible suffer any worse (…just kidding)._

**Bunny Angel—**My, we're enthusiastic, aren't we?  I think you had more exclamation points than words in there! ^_~

**vagabond—**You mean to tell me I've actually done something _original_? I'm in shock!  And as for the 'Hood…I've got plans for our lovable misfits.  *rubs hands together and grins evily*

**todd fan—**yeah, my parents are going to take me up-island to a place where I can get a private hour lesson.  It's only about $75 dollars, and it's definitely worth it.  Especially if it means I'll be able to pass before my seventeenth birthday ~hope, hope~…which is in a little more than two months.  

**ishandahalf—**er…*looks around nervously* this is probably gonna bring hoards of Romy fans running after me, but Rogue doesn't see Remy again until almost the end of the story.  There will be some mentioning or brief scenes, but little else. I'm sorry; don't cry, please!  As much as I love the coupling, they're _not_ the main focus of the story.  If you're looking for a really good Rogue/Remy fanfic, check out Street Livin'.  It's under my favorites section, if you haven't read it already.

**Pyromaniac—**Yeah, that Logan's got a real way with words, doesn't he? ;P

**Eileen—**But I _did_ leave it there!  Anyways, you got your wish, 'cause here's the next chapter!

**Lady MR—**Okay, I said I was going to be giving Ryo a larger role in the story, that's all I meant.  She doesn't save the day, she doesn't become Madame Perfect, she doesn't unexpectedly have EVERY chapter completely devoted to her, but she won't be ignored, either.  I wouldn't even DREAM of trying to turn her into a Mary Sue!  Actually…you'll never guess who _does_ save the day.  I'll give you a hint: it's probably the last person you'd suspect (aside from Xavier, that is.  He's evil.  End of story).  Geez…you keep talking like that, and you're gonna give my character a swelled head…

((**Ryo:** *has on a pair of Hollywood sunglasses* Dude…I rock.))

…*sigh* Now look at what you people've done!  (lol)  Yeah, I think Amanda's awesome, and what's even better is that she holds the same attitude in the show!  I never liked Taryn much, anyways, and I NEVER liked Duncan.  In my opinion, they **deserve** each other.  You'll find out where Remy went to later in the story…and like I said before, he'll be around, but he won't see Rogue until towards the end.  It's all part of the plot, I promise!  And I'll try for some RoLo again soon as possible, just for you.

**Aura Starfire—**Thank you!  ^_^  Why don't you try downloading the episodes?  I have this program called KaZaA, and I download tons of anime and X-men eppies all the time.  The only problem is that they tend to take FOREVER to download, but it's worth it! 

**Neva—**Yeah, I thought so, too.  Just wait until you see what I have in store for our favorite mutant/human couple next!  I gotta say, though, it kills me to have to write all this non-lancitty stuff.  The things I do for a good plotline!

**The Guy Who gets Bossed by the Sis—**heh, you sound like my little brother.  Eep!  Here's more!

**[Random Quote:** "Oh, no…the presents! They'll be destroyed! …and I care! _What_ is the _DEAL_?!."**]**

She sat atop the dresser table over by the opposite wall, facing the doorway.  Her legs, crossed just above the ankles, casually swung back-and-forth in a very child-like manner, and she was leaning back slightly, using her outstretched arms for support.  It was quickly deduced that she must have just come from a Danger room session, because she still had on the typical training uniform—though her gray sweatshirt had been pulled over it—and her hair hung loose, flowing every which way in a lovely, curly mess.  Her cheeks were still flushed from the workout, and she had on a somewhat ominous (yet, at the same time, very innocent) smirk.

Evan had to resist the urge to gulp.

The room was almost completely silent as Ryo moved to lean forward on her arms, resting them in her lap.  "You wouldn't—by any chance now—be trying to avoid me, Evan, now would you?"  Her voice spun with a sugary-sweetness almost any girl would use in rhetorical accusations.

Caught by surprise from her bluntness, he gave the first answer that came to mind: "Umm…no?"

"Liar."

Sitting up, Ryo half-jumped, half-slid to the floor in one fluid motion. Once on the ground, she gave Evan a good once-over.  The poor boy hadn't moved an inch; he very closely resembled a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle.  Ryo couldn't help but vainly attempt to stiffen a giggle. 

The sound of her laughter echoing off the narrow walls suddenly seemed to lift much of the tension in the room, and Evan let go of the breath he hadn't even realized he was holding.  Noticing how he visible relaxed, Ryo turned towards the adjacent room.

"Come on.  Let's head back towards the others." She called back to him.  Hardly pausing to blink, Evan found himself catching up to her and falling in step almost immediately.  They walked in silence for a moment before she spoke up again. "Y'know, it's been a while since the last time I saw you."

He nodded, "I guess," his eyes practically glued to the floor.

Ryo abruptly turned around and began walking backwards without missing a beat so she could face him directly.  Staring him straight in the eye, it was a wonder she didn't crash into anything.  For a moment, Evan briefly wondered in the back of his mind just how she did it.  Unlike before, however, her expression grew serious…probably the first time he had seen her as such.  "It wasn't your fault, you know." She told him softly.  He looked like he was about to quarrel with her on that, but she cut him off before he could get the words out. "And don't even _try_ to argue with me, 'cause you know I'll win."

This earned her a brief smile.  "You're probably right."

"Of course I'm right.  I'm always right." She lightly joked, before giving a truly friendly smile. "But seriously, Evan.  I don't blame you, nobody else blames you, so you shouldn't blame you.  Personally, if you ask me, I blame that stupid boulder…"

This time, he gave a laugh.  It was just too hard to wallow in self-pity when Ryo was around.  She seemed to have this out-going, humorous (borderline insane) way about her…when you were on her good side, at least.  

Just before the duo had reached the Main hallway, the phone ring twice before someone answered it.  The voice of Jamie shouting out, "Kurt!  Phone!" could be heard a few seconds later, quickly followed the distinctive bamf and faint smell of brimstone signaling the German mutant's entrance.  Ryo took this as her cue, pausing in her [backwards] tracks just before the doorway.

"Hey, I have an idea." She told him, eyes lighting up with inspiration. "How 'bout you and me hang out this weekend, go out and do something?  I swear, if I don't get out of this place for at least one day I'll go nuts!"  Evan could definitely relate with that. 

"Sounds like a plan.  Got anything in mind?"

She winced slightly.  "Well, the first thing to do is convince the Professor to _let_ me go…"

"Wait, let me get zis straight."  It hadn't taken a rocket scientist to figure out Amanda had been the one calling for Kurt.  What caught him by surprise (actually, more like shock) was what it was she wanted.  Every boyfriend's worst nightmare: "Your parents want to invite me over for _dinner_?"

"You knew it was bound to happen sometime, Kurt," Amanda's voice came through the receiver.  If he didn't know better, Kurt could have almost _sworn_ she was enjoying this!  "Mom and Dad are really old fashioned when it comes to this sort of thing.  They want a formal introduction, the whole shebang.  Actually, I think it's a great idea; once they get to know you as well—" she quickly amended that. "—at least, _almost_ as well as I do, they'll just love you!"

It took a second for Kurt to understand what she had just implied. "You mean…zey don't know zat I'm a mutant?"

"I'm amazed they haven't made the connection yet, but no.  To them, you're nothing more than the average male threat trying to steal their daughter away."  

For some reason, the thought of having to deal with nothing more than overprotective parents seemed inviting compared to the _other_ issue.  He glanced down at his imager.  _I suppose it would work…_ "What time?"  He could almost see her smiling in relief on the other end.

"Tomorrow night, about six o'clock."

About this time, Ryo and Evan came into the room from the main hallway.  Kurt caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of his eye as he replied, "I'll be zere." He waved over his two comrades. "Listen, 'Manda, I gotta go.  I'll see you in school tomorrow.  Bye."  He hung up the receiver just as they reached him, each giving the blue boy a questioning look.

"Lemme guess…meeting the folks?" Evan asked.

Kurt gave a sigh and nodded. "_Ja_."

From the opposite door, a majority of the New Recruits (specifically Jubilee, Rahne, Sam, Bobby, and Amara) walked in, laughing and talking about the day, Bobby in the middle of the group.  As soon as he laid eyes on Ryo, however, he paused mid-sentence, eyes going wide and paling slightly.

Evan saw the evil gleam in her eyes as she spotted the residential Iceman, sauntering over to him casually but quickly.  "Bobby!" She called out his name a _little_ too cheerfully for his liking. "Just the guy I was looking for."  He tried hiding behind Jubilee, but Ryo roughly grabbed him by the back of his collar before he could escape, smiling brightly. "Mind if I borrow your boyfriend for a little while, Jubes?"

She looked over at the poor boy, who was shaking his head rapidly.  _Saynosaynosayno…_ "Fine by me." He froze in terror. _Oh, sh— _

"Great!  Come on, Drake." Ryo literally dragged him off towards the stairway, then continued towards the Girls' wing.  

Everybody stared after their two retreating figures, wondering what the heck just happened.  Jubilee shook her head—most likely at Bobby—and everybody turned to her with a questioning look on their faces.  

"Okay, Jubilee…what gives?" Sam asked her.

With an exhausted sigh, she turned to address the group. "You know the one thing you _never_ say to a girl?"  

"Yeah." 

"He said it."  

The room quickly grew silent.  Rahne, Jubilee, and Amara watched amusingly as their male comrades stared at one another with mixed expressions on their faces—a cross between pity for their teammate and relief that it wasn't them.  Simultaneously turning their heads back to the girls, Evan (who currently had the most experience in knowing just what the bleach-blonde female was capable of) spoke for the three of them:

"…she's not gonna kill him, is she?"  

Over at the Brotherhood house, things were unusually quiet (considering its occupants).  Lance, who had stormed in the room a little while after school ended, was sulking in his favorite chair over in the corner, guitar in his hands and strumming a few cords every so often; Pietro was lazily reclining on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table, clicking away with the remote a mile a minute; while Fred and Todd had engaged in a friendly card came on the floor, the latter of the two wearing a transparent poker visor on his head and "smoking" a candy cigar.  Fred had already eaten his.

After a moment or so of staring at his current hand, Todd placed two cards down.  "Hit me," he said to his opponent.  So Fred hit him.  "…OW!  Freddie, that means gimme two more cards, yo."

"…oh." With a slight embarrassment, he dished out the requested cards as Todd rubbed his now throbbing head.  It was about that time that Mystique stomped into the room, eyes glaring and fists clenched.  

"Yo, Boss-Lady!  Where ya been?" Todd called from his seat on the floor, hardly taking the time to glance upward.

It was clear she wasn't very happy from the venomous tone of her voice.  "Doing my job, unlike you lazy idiots."

"I don't like to think of it as being lazy," Pietro spoke up, his eyes still glared to the blinking screen, "More like resting up for our next battle."

Her eyes narrowed into such thin slits you could barely see their yellow pupils, her fingernails drawing blood from the palms they dug into.  Without warning, she headed straight for where Pietro was sitting, grabbed the clicker from his hands and hurled it at the television set.  Sparks flew in every direction as it hit and shattered the screen, causing a temporary flickering of the lights from the power surge.  Eyes wide in sudden fear, the boys immediately stood to attention, dropping all instruments and playing cards in their wake.

"I am _sick_ and _tired_ of having to play _babysitter_ to a bunch of smart-mouth, teenaged mutants!" She screamed at each of them, staring them down one by one.  They hardly dared to blink; Mystique would have thoroughly enjoyed this moment of power were she not so enraged .  "Now listen up and listen closely; I have a mission for you." She did a quick mental scan of the room.  "Where's Wanda?"

They looked at one another, each time receiving a shrug in response. "Knowing her, out looking for Magneto." Pietro answered, though somewhat timidly.

Her expression didn't waver; they weren't sure if that was a good or bad thing.  "Never mind, then.  I doubt you'll need her; even _you_ can't possibly screw this up."  She paused, watching them squirm under her gaze.  "Go to the Xavier Institute tonight and start up a battle with them.  I'm sure Toad and Quicksilver can easily get past the security system."

"Why?" Lance spoke up.  The sound of his voice cut through the air like a knife to butter, drawing Mystique's head to sharply turn towards him.  Before anyone knew what was happening, she backhanded him so hard he fell to the floor.  The others moved to aid their friend, but one glance from Mystique and they stiffened in their tracks.

She turned back to the boy, who wiped a thin trail of blood from his mouth before looking up at her.  "You don't question, you follow orders.  Is that understood?"  He nodded fearfully.  "And don't even _think_ of warning your little girlfriend this time, Avalanche, or so help me a fat lip will be the least of your injuries."  She turned back to the remaining three.  "I've learned that Xavier has welcomed yet another recruit to his team, approximately two months ago.  You job is to lure her out, find out what you can about her.  Powers…origin…even a name would be of the utmost importance.  I don't care how the fight turns out; get the information and report back here.  Understand?"

They nodded.  Lance stood up, one hand holding his stinging cheek, but nodded as well.

"Good.  Suit up."

Outside the window of Jubilee and Ryo's co-bedroom (the latter of which had left the room some time earlier), the sun has just set a few moments before and a beautiful array of stars were beginning to appear in the darkening sky.  A full moon was rising above the horizon, adding to the magnificence of the view.  But neither of the room's current occupants were paying much attention to it.  They had a much more important task at hand…

"Okay, Jubes, what'd you get for question number fifteen?"  

It had quickly become a nightly tradition for Bobby and Jubilee to hang out in her room after dinner to do homework together, especially considering they took many of the same classes.  And so it was that evening—just like any other—the young couple sat Indian-style, directly opposite one another on Jubilee's bed, various textbooks and papers surrounding them.

When he didn't get an answer, Bobby looked up. "Jubilee?"

"Hmm?" She quickly snapped out of her trance.  "Did you say something?"  

"I asked what you got for number fifteen."

Pausing for a second to recollect her thoughts, Jubilee shuffled through a few of her papers, checking her work before replying. "I..um…don't think I'm up to that one yet."  Bobby frowned.  Something was wrong with this picture; she _always_ finished her work before he did  Carefully, he tucked his papers in the textbook, closed it and placed it off to the side. 

"Okay, spill it.  What's wrong?"

"Wrong?" He saw her visible flinch, but attempt to cover it up with a small laugh. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

He moved closer so that their knees were touching, then gently took her things from her lap, placing them off to the side along with his.  She made no move to stop him.  "Come on, Jubilee.  I _know_ you.  Something's definitely up."  He leaned in and whispered, "You know you can tell me anything, right?"  then paused for a second before adding, "…well, anything but the answer to number fifteen, that is."

She giggled. "Very funny, Drake." Grabbing the nearest pillow, she lightly tossed it at him.  He caught it with a grin, eyebrow raised.

"You realize, of course…this means war."

He took the pillow in his hands and started whacking her with it; she squealed in protest, then grabbed her own pillow to retaliate.  Rising to their knees for better swings, it quickly became a free-for-all combat.  Feathers were soon flying everywhere as the seams of the pillows gave in to the beatings, nearly obstructing their vision as they swung blindly in fun, laughing heartily all the while. 

Bobby was the first to loose his balance, a wild aim at nothing but air being the cause.  He wobbled amidst the shower of feathers before falling forward, straight into Jubilee.  With a yelp of surprise, she squeezed her eyes shut, tipped over and ended up lying on her back, her head supported by a large, fluffy pillow.  Bobby landed right on top of her.  But then she opened her eyes, and the minute they connected with his, the laughter died down.  Their faces were less than a foot apart, their breathing—slightly heavy from the exercise—growing synchronized.  He just stared down at her with a loving smile, not wishing to move, which she happily returned.  On impulse, Jubilee reached up with one hand to stroke his cheek softly, giggling as a few of the feathers tangled in his hair fell down, tickling her skin.

The door suddenly opened, and both their heads turned to see Jamie walk in.  "Hey, Bobby, I was wondering if I could borrow your…" He took one look at the scene, made an about-face and walked back out the door without missing a beat. "…okay, never mind.  I'll come back later." 

They stared at the closed door for a few seconds before turning their heads back to face one another…and burst out laughing.  "Get off me." Jubilee managed between giggles; he reluctantly obliged, and the two sat up, brushing the feathers off themselves.

On the other side of the door, Jamie was leaning up against it, eyes wide and staring straight out ahead of him.  "Mental note:" he said to himself, "From now on, _always_ knock!"

As Bobby reached up to carefully pluck a feather from Jubilee's hair, he repeated his earlier question: "Now, are you going to tell me what's got you in such a gloomy mood, or am I gonna have to tickle it out of you?" He held up the rescued feather with a grin.  She smiled at him briefly before her expression grew solemn again.  

"I-I got in touch with my foster parents today."

Bobby shifted his position so that he could sit right beside her.  He smiled at the news; ever since the Incident, many of the students had had difficulty in contacting his or her parents to assure them everything was fine.  He, himself, had been lucky enough to speak with both his mother and father in less than a week, but Jubilee was still among the few who hadn't been able to contact hers.  "Really?  That's gr—"

"They want me to come home."

He froze. "What?" Maybe he hadn't heard right.  He could've sworn she said…

"They want me to come home.  When I talked to Mom this afternoon, she was in near hysterics.  Dad's absolutely furious with the whole thing.  T-they saw the news broadcast…they _know_."  Jubilee's hair was obstructing her face from view, but he could still tell she was desperately trying not to cry.  

"When?" Was all he could manage, his voice coming out much colder than he had meant it to; Jubilee cringed from his tone.

"Saturday evening."

"_Saturday?!_" He exclaimed. "But that's the day after tomorrow!"

"I know that!" She snapped back, before calming herself down, leaning her forehead on his shoulder. "I don't wanna leave, Bobby.  I don't wanna leave the institute.  I don't wanna leave _you_."

He rested his head atop hers.  "I know." He whispered to her, "I know…"  A sudden rumble interrupted the moment, however, as the ground began to shake.  "What the—"

The two of them stood up, staring at the now immobile ground before a sudden ruckus outside caught their attention.  Giving each other a curious glance, they rushed for the door and peered out.  Scott, Rogue, and Kurt—all still in their day clothes—were furiously banging on the door opposite Jubilee's.  "Come on, Kitty, open the door!" Scott shouted. "This is serious!"

"What the heck's all the racket about out here?" A sleepy Ryo stepped out from Amara and Rahne's room, where she had been taking a nap.  Bobby took one glance at her, and ran back inside his girlfriend's room with an 'eep!'  Ryo, for the most part, ignored him.  "I swear, Scott, they could hear you all the way out in the _Hamptons_!"

"Ah'm telling ya, she's not commin' out.  Ya're wasting ya time." Rogue sighed from where she was leaning against the wall, then turned her head to explain to Ryo. "She's locked herself in; the Brotherhood's outside tryin' ta pick a fight with us, an' Kitty doesn't wanna come outta her room ta face 'em."

Ryo had heard a little about this other band of mutants from most of the other New Recruits.  From what she had been able to gather, they were a bunch of misfits who were constantly looking to pick a fight with the X-men…that was about it, but it was still enough to earn a scowl from her.  "The Brotherhood?  What the hell do _they_ want?"

"To cause trouble; what else?"  Scott told her.  "Kitty, we don't have _time_ for this!" 

_Scott, do not try and force her,_ Xavier's voice suddenly rang in all their heads, _She's had a rough day, and her heart's not into it.  You know the reason why…_

"But, Professor—" he began.

_Leave her be, Scott.  Why not just send Ryo in her place?_

"What?!" He exclaimed.

"What?!" The others exclaimed.

"WHAT?!" Ryo exclaimed.  "You're joking, right?  Somebody tell me he's joking."

_I never joke._ Came the reply.  _Ryo, listen to me very carefully.  I've been watching you in your training sessions.  Your skill has improved greatly over such a short amount of time, and I feel you're ready to take on a bigger challenge.  Now tell me, do you think you can handle it?_

The others stared at her wordlessly as she thought about it carefully.  After a moment, she nodded hesitantly. "I guess so." 

_Very well then.  I wish you the best of luck…Rhythm._

"Rhythm," she repeated softly, smiling at the new codename. "Now _that's_ more like it!"

Kitty sat on the windowsill of her bedroom, curled up in a fetal position with Lockheed held tightly in her arms.  She cursed her luck for having a room that overlooked the entire front yard. Ignoring all protests coming from outside her door, the young brunette directed her focus to the four boys standing just inside the mansion gates.  She saw Lance searching the yard for signs of their welcoming party, wondering how he would react to not see her among them.

His eyes traveled up the sides of the house, and for a brief moment, seemed to make contact with hers.  She froze as he held the gaze, then reminded herself that there was no way he could have been able to see through the tinted windows.  Still…

Not willing to torture herself anymore, Kitty reluctantly pulled away from the window, shutting the curtains.  She had no interest whatsoever in watching the inevitable skirmish that was about to take place, opting to bury herself under the warm, inviting covers instead.

_This is like something from a comic book,_ Ryo thought to herself as she lined up with the others to greet their visitors.  She still had on her outfit from earlier, but managed to find the time to pull her hair back up in its usual ponytail.  Standing her ground between Evan and Kurt, she managed to catch a glimpse of three teenaged boys stationed in different areas of the yard.  The moon was full amidst cloudless sky filled with bright stars, so despite it being well past sunset, Ryo was able to see with very little difficulty. 

One of them looked about five times her weight and twice her height, with a bright yellow mohawk and casual clothing—he reminded her of one of those Japanese sumo wrestlers.  The second boy had to be at least two years her junior, with pale green (_green?_) skin, dirty blonde hair, and was wearing what looked like a metallic turtle shell.  He was hunched over, much like a frog, with golden-colored eyes darting around in search of something; she jumped slightly when a long tongue came out of his mouth and snapped up a fly. _Oh, gross!_  The third boy, however, was the one that definitely caught her eye.  He stood shorter than the first one, but with a more muscular build.  His black hair looked tough and fell over his eyes in ratted bangs, covered by what looked like a fruit bowl.  

But what Ryo noticed about him the most (even more than his ridiculous outfit) was the look in his eyes.  He seemed to be searching for something in particular, his sight darting about in hopes of finding it…but then seemed almost _relieved_ when he came up empty.  It was all very bizarre to her. 

As the cliché went, Scott stepped forward, assuming his position as leader.  "What do you want, Alvers?"

The boy Ryo had been observing last turned his head, a sneer immediately appearing on his face.  Without a sound, he held up one hand and the ground began to shake, sending a split in the ground towards the X-men.  They instantly jumped out of the way, and the battle began.

Kurt and Rogue went straight into defensive maneuvering, weaving their way through the war zone—Kurt, by teleporting—and occasionally getting a kick or two in.  Evan and Scott set to work shooting off bone spikes and laser beams, while Jean remained off to the side for the time being, holding up a psychic shield to be sure the mansion would suffer the least amount of damage possible.  Ryo, deep in concentration, found herself enthralled by the rapid-paced feeling of combat.  Holding her arms straight out in front of her, palms out and overlapping one another, she was surprised to find how well she could now control the sonic waves when she _wanted_ to blow stuff up.

The battle, a chaotic brouhaha where it was every man for himself, lasted several minutes before a figure stepped up about twenty feet away from Ryo.  It was Lance.  She paused, staring him down with both hands extended in defense. "You must be that Newbie we were told about." He said to her with a hint of amusement.  "I was wondering when I'd get to meet you."

She glared at him, sending off a series of blast in his general direction.  He dodged them all.  "Ooh, hold still, you walking fault line!" She squealed in annoyance.  He gave a smirk, and held out one hand.  The ground beneath Ryo began to shake, but she managed to hold her ground until it subsided.  Then, she got an idea.  "You call that an earthquake?  Watch and learn…"

She got down on one knee, holding up her hands. "Sonic waves…" Then, she placed them flat on the soil, palms down. "Plus ground…" Almost immediately, the ground began to shake furiously as she sent a series of pulses through the earth's crust.  Caught by surprise, Lance was quickly knocked to the ground as she got him off balance. "Equals you falling flat on your ass."  She stood up, brushing the dirt off her hands.  "See what happens when you pay attention in Science class?"

"My, my, aren't we resourceful?" A new voice spoke up behind her.  She abruptly turned around in surprise…and met eye-to-eye with none other than Quicksilver. Her eyes went wide as recognition immediately took over, and she gasped. Likewise, his cockily-folded arms dropped to his sides, mouth opened wide in shock. "…_Ryo?!_"

"…_Pietro?!_"

The battle continued on around them, no one else seeming to notice their sudden halt in fighting.  Underneath the starlight, they stared at one another in astonishment for close to half a minute before managing  to absorb everything.  Here they were, face-to-face, after all that time…and on opposing teams.  Finally managing to locate their voices again, the next words out of their mouths were in unison:

"You've gotta be _kidding_ me!"

___________________  
TO BE CONTINUED…

*note—Three guesses on which episode I plan to parallel first.  The hint is in this chapter. ^_~


	9. Reunited

_I'm sooo sorry I'm late in posting this chapter.  I've had to deal with school midterms, intensive play rehearsals, tons of stuff involving Junior Prom/College, and computer complications (don't ask).  I **do** have all these chapters written and ready for typing/editing, I just haven't had the time.  Please bear with me, I doing my absolute best!_

**Ryo****:** *throws on another coat* Maybe you could get your lazy butt going faster if you turned the damn _HEAT_ on, hmm?

_Hey, not my fault the boiler decided to go out during the third ice age.  As if I know how to work the thing…    _

**todd fan—**Since you were the first person to get it right, I'll tell you; It's going to be _The Toad, The Witch, and the Wardrobe_… THE best episode EVER!  However, I have one more chapter to go through before I get to it.

**Pyromaniac—**Thanks a bunch for the compliment!  And don't put yourself down; you write really well, too.  As a matter of fact, the Apocolytes WILL be in the story.  All three of 'em.

**Neva—**Smirky Smirkerson? 0.o That's a new one.

**Lady MR—**Yay!  I'm a good author! ^_^  Well, obviously if I'm paralleling the episode next chapter, it didn't happen yet.  As for why she was going to "kill" Bobby, that's more of a joke between me and my friends.  One day at lunch, I was in such a bad mood one of the guys asked me if I was PMSing or something…BAD idea.  I chased him around the whole school yard twice, only stopping when he ran into the boys' bathroom in fear (wuss!).  Now, I know all girls aren't really sensitive about that sort of thing…but this is Ryo we're talking about.  Jubilee _is_ going to leave, but Rahne isn't (aha!  A twist!) and I'm still debating over whether to have Evan go join the Morlocks or not.

**Bunny Angel—**There you go with the exclamation points again.  Originally, I was going to give her the codename "Siren," but then I remembered the Syren from the comics.  Rhythm was my second choice.  I'm sorry if you don't like it, but I do and it's my story.  Oh, and since you're SCREAMING for Rogue/Remy, I think you'll find the response below interesting..

**ishandahalf—**Evil?  You think I'M evil? …you're learning! Very good.  *evil laughter* Try this on for "evil"; you didn't even notice the specific word choosing I used in my last response: _Rogue_ wouldn't see _Remy_ until nearly the end of the story…I said nothing of the fact that _Remy_ wouldn't see _her_ at all.  *wink-wink, nudge-nudge*  See where I'm hinting at with this?  Told ya I was evil.  If you wanna know how Pietro and Ryo know one another, go back and read chapter 3.  You'll hafta to understand what happens in this chapter better.

**Eileen—**Just wait 'till you see how _interesting_ things get now…

**[Random Quote: **"Why fire engines are red: fire engines are red because books are read, too; two plus two is four, and four times three is twelve; there are twelve inches in a ruler; Queen Mary was also a ruler; Queen Mary is also the name of a ship; ships sail on the water, and fish swim in the water; fish have fins, and the Fins fought the Russians; fire engines are always russin', so that's why they're red."**]**

The lights were dimmed down low, a gentle roaring fire being the only source of light in the mansion den that evening.  Soundproof walls kept the room almost immeasurably silent, and locks on the doors would insure the calm, peaceful ambiance would remain just that.  Logan sat comfortably in a large arm chair, a cup of hot cocoa off to one side and his feet resting comfortably on the matching foot rest.  In his lap was a very sleepy Ororo, who had opted to recline back so that her head rested comfortably against his chest.  She closed her eyes in relaxation as he gently massaged her throbbing temples. 

"You been feelin' alright lately, 'Ro?" His gruff voice spoke up, though quietly so as not to disturb her, "These migraines of yours seem to be getting worse and worse."

Ororo shifted slightly before replying, "I know, and for the life of me, I can not figure out what could possibly be causing them."  

It all started not long after she had first arrived at the Xavier Institute a few years ago.  Back then, her training was intense and caused her to suffer from occasional headaches at the end of the day; nothing serious, so it was hardly given a second thought at.  However, when the students first arrived and she had ceased the daily workouts to aid in teaching, the nightly pain remained.  Not only that, but the more kids that arrived, the more intense her headaches grew.  That's when she knew something was wrong.

A couple of months ago, Ororo had voluntarily spent the night in the infirmary so that Hank could thoroughly examine her.  He checked everything from her blood pressure to any possible signs for a brain tumor.  Nothing turned up; although there had been signs of some brief irregularities in her brain wave patterns, further testing showed it to be inconsequential, most likely a result of the tension rather than cause.  

The next day, she was released and continued on with her daily routine, though by then the pain had graduated to migraine-level, far stronger than even what she had first experienced during the manifestation of her mutant powers.  The Professor now had the former weather goddess on three different types of medication, which helped some, but not enough to completely eliminate the pain.

"Maybe it's just stress," she murmured, sighing as she laid her head to the side, "A lot's been going on around here these past few months, after all.  Between revealing ourselves to the public, dealing with Trask, looking after the children…"

"Eh, the kids ain't _that_ bad," he quipped, earning a minute smile from here. "Speakin' of the little darlin's, I don't suppose you know what they're all up to tonight, do you?"

Ororo opened one eye to meet his gaze. "Charles is giving them a special treat in honor of making it through their first day back at school.  Ice cream sundaes and soda floats in the kitchen, sort of like a mini party."  Logan paused a moment to blink. _THOSE kids on sugar?_

"Ugh…now I think _I_ have a headache."

That evening, Ryo stood in front of her bedroom mirror, staring at her reflection as she finished tying the strings of her halter top behind her neck.  She had gone to see Hank down in the medical lab earlier to get her bandages removed, and wanted to be sure her usual ensemble would cover up the vast number of scars that still remained.  It wasn't much of a problem during the oncoming winter season, when the young blonde could easily cover them up with a sweater or jacket, but then there was the issue of New York's warm, summer months…. 

"What do you think, Jubilee?  Can you see anything?"  She glanced at her roommate through the mirror.

The younger girl looked up from her bed, where she was lying on her stomach facing Ryo so the two could talk.  "Yeah, the back doesn't go high enough," she responded after a moment, tilting one head to the side, "Try pulling it up about another inch or two."  Groaning in defeat, Ryo opted to change the conversation topic as she continued tugging at the cotton material.  

"So, have you told anyone else aside from me about leaving yet?" 

The answer came a bit hesitantly. "I…told Bobby a little while ago." 

The tone of her voice brought Ryo to a halt in her tracks.  She turned around to see Jubilee staring down at the pillow in her clutches with a now somber expression.  Feeling guilty for having brought the subject up, she moved towards the edge of Jubilee's bed.  "How'd he take it?" She asked softly while sitting down.

Jubilee managed to force a smile as she sat up. "Better than me, that's for sure."

"Oh, Jubes…" Ryo reached over and gave her friend a tight sideways-hug, the two of them nearly toppling over as she leaned on her a little too much.  Jubilee gave a small giggle at her friend's spontaneous antics.  "It's gonna be okay, and you know it; Bobby loves you too much to let you go _that_ easily."

"He…what?" At this, she pulled away in astonishment, eyes wide. "How do you know?" 

"I just do," Ryo answered, trying not to roll her eyes at the 14-year-old's innocent naivety.  "Trust me; that boy never seems anywhere near as happy as he when you're with him.  I can tell just by the look in his eyes…and something tells me you can, too." 

But Jubilee was no longer listening, seemingly lost in thought as she stared out into space, a mixture of shock and delight adorning her facial features.  Ryo carefully got up, leaving the girl to her musings.

The heavy silence lasted for hardly a few seconds when it was broken by a knock at the door.  Sam Guthrie poked his head in, unaware of anything he may have been interrupting.   Behind him, the distinctive sound of Scott's voice could be heard shouting something, as well as the commotion going on downstairs.

"Hey, ya two commin' down ta the party?  We've gotta bettin' pool on how long it takes before Kurt gives himself brain freeze."

A grin appeared as Jubilee eagerly hopped off her bed to follow Sam out the door.  She paused briefly when Ryo didn't tag along, turning to her questioningly. "Aren't you coming, Ry?"

"You guys go," she answered, sitting on her own bed. "I'll be down in a few, kay?"  With a nod, the two set off towards the Institute kitchen.  

Ryo took one more sideways glance at the mirror, twisting her torso around so she could get a better look.  She audibly groaned at the sight; it was easy to tell just from the few inches of skin that the rest wasn't very pretty.  The wound marks were still very pink from being freshly closed up, though not as tender as they appeared.  __

_"I'm sorry, my dear," Hank had told her sadly, "But I'm afraid there's a very real chance the scarring will be permanent...."_

Shaking the memory from her mind, she grabbed a black mini-jacket from her closed and hastily pulled it over the halter top before releasing her ponytail to fix it.  As the curly strands fell down over her shoulders, she reached for the nearest brush to try and straighten them out again.

"Y'know, I would've never pictured you as a blonde." A voice spoke up, startling her so much that she visibly jumped, dropping her brush and hair tie.  Before Ryo could compose herself, the nearby mirror shattered into a million pieces from yet another one of her accidental blasts.  Instinctively ducking to avoid getting cut, she could hear the same voice from a few seconds ago gasp. Ryo looked up to see a speechless Pietro standing next to the window with his mouth open. 

Ignoring him for the moment, she headed straight for the glass shards, hastily trying to pick them up before anybody came up and saw it.  Getting over the initial shock, Pietro zipped over to lend a hand.  "Geez, Ry, I'm sorry, I didn't know—" No sooner had he knelt down, however, when his apology was interrupted by a banging on the door followed by Scott's voice.

"Ryo?  You okay in there?"  They both froze.  "I thought I heard the sound of something breaking." 

She cringed,  thankful Jubilee had locked the door when she left.  "Yeah, I…um…was trying to adjust the mirror, and it slipped through my fingers."  She lied, praying that Scott would buy it.

He did.  "All right.  You need any help cleaning up the glass?"

"No, I got it.  Thanks, though."  She waited for his shadow under the door to disappear before releasing the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.  Pietro followed suit, drawing attention to the fact that he was still there.  Bad idea.

She stood up, arms folded across her chest and her foot tapping.  The glare in her eyes sent shivers down the boys spine as he slowly got up as well.  Realizing he still had a number of mirror pieces in his hands, he hid them behind his back and attempted to flash an innocent smile.

Ryo didn't buy it for a second. "What ever happened to knocking, huh?"

"Er…sorry?"

She tried keeping up the angry façade a few seconds longer before the glare melted away into a grin.  For the moment, everything was forgotten—rivalry, anger, fighting—as the joy in seeing her childhood friend again took over.  She closed the short gap between them and embraced the silver-haired boy tightly with a slight giggle.  In return, Pietro dropped the glass in his hands to return the gesture, briefly lifting her slender figure up off the ground in excitement.

"Pietro Lensherr, you haven't changed a bit.  Now put me down!" She managed to get out through fits of laughter.

"It's great to see you again, Ry." Pietro said to her once her feet were back on the floor.  Then, jokingly, he fingered one of her curly locks. "Now would you mind explaining _this_, young lady."

She swatted his hand away before bending down to pick up her hair tie.  "Long story, short…took a bottle of bleach to my head shortly after my powers first emerged."  She pulled her air back, securing it with the band, then shrugged casually.  "Just figured 'new powers, new life'…I guess I needed a change of some kind."

He grinned. "So _now_ who's the albino rat around here?"  Ryo paused as if the question were worth pondering over.  Tilting her head to the side, she took a good look at him before replying.

"Nope; still you."

Pietro's expression didn't waver. _I wonder how Wanda would react to seeing her now…_ He thought to himself. Then his eyes lit up with inspiration.  Why not?  

"Uh-uh, Pie, I know that look.  What evil scheme are you up to this time?"

He smirked mysteriously.  "Grab your coat.  I know someone who'd absolutely _love_ to see you." 

"O…kay…" She knew better than to trust him when he was like this, but grabbed her new frosty-white winter coat (a gift from the professor) anyways.  "And how exactly are we suppose to get to wherever this person of yours is?"

"Like this." He picked her up with little resistance other than her initial shriek of protest, and in a flash the two of them were out the window, across the front lawn of the mansion, past the gates, and on their way towards the Brotherhood household.  

Had the two paused for even a moment to look back at the Institute, they might have noticed that single beam of light on in the Professor's study.  A single, solitary figure resided by the window, watching the couple speed off into the forthcoming night.  But rather than try to stop them, the figure only watched amusingly, a smirk clearly present on his aging facial features…

It was eerily silent at the Brotherhood house that evening, and Wanda was loving every minute it.  She wasn't quite sure what the boys were up to or where they were, and quite frankly, she didn't care.  In fact, she didn't care about anything at that moment as she reclined comfortably on the Living Room couch, lying on her back with a pillow over her head.  For the first time since she had moved in, The Scarlet Witch felt completely relaxed.

She should have known it wouldn't last.

A gust of wind signified her beloved twin's entrance.  Inwardly groaning, she tried ignoring him.  He had another idea in mind.  "Hey, sis…lookie who I got here."  

Heaving a sigh, Wanda cursed her morbid sense of curiosity as she threw off the pillow and sat up.  Pietro was leaning against the door frame with a mysterious smirk plastered on his face.  When he was sure he had her undivided attention, he reached out to his left and pulled the aforementioned person into her line of sight

At first glance, Wanda had absolutely no idea who this adolescent girl was, or why Pietro assumed she would want to meet her; she was about the same age as her and her brother with blonde hair and a look of bewilderment that matched her own.  But there was something about her that seemed…_familiar_.  Something about her entire presence.  Wanda began to imagine this presence much shorter with dark hair and a youthful face.  

It was then recognition set in, and her eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "Ryo?  Ryo Cadencey?" She immediately stood up to greet her childhood friend. "Oh, my God…I hardly recognized you!" Propped up against the nearby wall, Pietro folded his arms in satisfaction.

But something was wrong; no sooner had Ryo laid eyes on Wanda when she abruptly stiffened, the smile on her face disappearing.  As Wanda stepped forward, she pulled back as if afraid.  Her eyes glazed over as if remembering something from long ago.

"It was you…" She whispered so softly Wanda almost didn't hear her. "You did it.  With your powers."

Wanda paused in her steps; likewise, Pietro uncrossed his arms and stood up straight in confusion. "What do you mean?  What did I do with my powers?" She questioned.

Slowly, Ryo began backing away from the two of them, careful not to let either one out of her sight for an instant.  "The fire…I remember everything…you started with some kind of bolt of lightning…Mom and Dad were inside…" Her voice was cacophonously monotonous, hardly even quivering.

Pietro grabbed the girl's arm so that she turned to face him. "What the hell are you talking abou—" She roughly pulled away before he could finish, her breathing now coming in heavy gasps.

"Don't you touch me." She spat out, her voice growing almost hysterical; out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wanda try to take another step forward and quickly held up one arm, sending out a sharp discharge the other girl narrowly escaped by instinctively ducking.  

In that split second, as Wanda looked back at her attacker, Ryo could have almost sworn she saw a look of hurt in the raven-haired girl's eyes.  It was more than she could stand; ignoring Pietro's cries of protest, she darted out of the room, ran straight though the front door and out into the black of night without once looking back.

Pietro stared after her hastily retreating figure, completely befuddled at what had just happened.  Turning quickly to his sister, he saw her frozen in her tracks, mouth wide open in shock.  Her eyes gained a glossy manner to them and for an instant, he saw a single tear fall down her cheek.  The broken-hearted expression quickly turned to a cold, hard glare as anger took over, and the nearby radio suddenly burst into an array of sparks and melted plastic.

Without a word, Wanda abruptly turned and stormed out of the house in the opposite direction Ryo had gone.  "Wanda, wait!" He called worriedly after her, "Where are you going?"

"Out." Came the quivering reply.  **_He_**_ did this somehow, I know it.  _She thought to herself. _I don't know how or why, but so help me I will make him pay dearly… _ She came to a clearing where no one was around and looked up at the night sky, spitting out one word: "Father…"

Upon her hasty return to the institute, Ryo had managed to make her way up to Xavier's study and soon found herself dropping to the floor from exhaustion, her head resting in her arms upon the old man's knees as she sobbed uncontrollably.  He had been surprisingly unruffled by the fact that she had taken off without permission, but the back of her mind reasoned that it was still prior to curfew, and therefore it had been all right.  Currently, he tried comforting the hyperactive girl, gently stroking her hair in a very fatherly manner.  

"Shh…it's all right, my dear." He whispered to her once she began to calm down.  Not wishing her to know of his recent mind-probing, he feigned ignorance of the situation: "Things like this happen for a reason.  Pietro and Wanda Maximoff may have chosen to side with the enemy for now, but that doesn't mean you should give up hope."

Choking back one last sob, Ryo picked her head up. "Maximoff." She murmured softly, speaking more to herself than to him, "That was their mother's maiden name…all this time hearing it, I can't believe I never made the connection."

She stared at the floor with an empty expression, the last few tears shed gradually trailing their way down her cheek.  Xavier remained indefinitely quiet, watching the girl closely as she absorbed everything that had gone on within the past half hour.  Her face remained emotionless, but he could see the internal struggle going on through her eyes, sense the pain she felt.  And for an instant, Charles Xavier almost regretted the choice he had made…

Almost.

After a moment of silence, he lifted his head and called over Ryo's shoulder, "You can come in now, Sypke."

The young girl stiffened at the sound of this.  _Evan?_  Abruptly, she looked up at Xavier in question than almost immediately turned her head in time to see a slightly embarrassed step out from where he had been eavesdropping in the hallway.  In a flash, she stood up and tried (in vain) to wipe the tears from her eyes, not wanting anyone to see her cry.  But there was no mistaking the red puffiness they still had.

"I…saw you running up the stairs before," Evan explained a bit shyly, cheeks still a little red. "Are you okay, Ry?"

Nodding in response, she forced a smile.  "Yeah, I'm good.  Just had a little breakdown is all, no biggie."  The tension in the air was growing a little thick, and Evan could sense Ryo's awkwardness; her eyes darted around the room in search of a quick escape.

In an attempt to lighten the mood, he walked up to her and put one arm around her shoulders. "Hey, how 'bout we head downstairs and join the others, hmm?"  She looked at him gratefully, and he gave her a friendly smirk.  "I think we can still get you in on the betting pool."

"Kurt's _still_ going?"

"Dude's on a roll…" Managing to bring a smile out of her, Evan lead her out of the room.  Xavier watched the two friends leave with a somewhat growing interest….

Most brilliant schemes derive from long, pain-stakingly hard hours of careful planning.  But every so often, they come in a single moment's worth of inspiration.  And as the two retreated figured vanished from his line of sight, Xavier found himself momentarily inspired.

_Ororo,_ He mentally called out to the former weather goddess, smiling inwardly as he sensed Logan's presence accompanying hers. _I have the most wonderful idea, and it involves your nephew…_

"_Mein Gott_, did anyone get ze license plate of ze ice cream truck zat hit me?"

Most of the kitchen occupants ignored the German mutant, who was sprawled out on the floor moaning about dying.  Exactly fourty-six minutes and three seconds after, the Fuzzy Dude was finally overcome by the infamous brain freeze.  Rogue happily went around the room collecting her winnings.  _Remy would be proud…_ she thought to herself as she sat in one corner to count the money.

Having gotten a root beer float from Roberto (who had dubbed himself the official "chef" of the evening—hat and all), Ryo took her seat among the X-men to join in the celebration.  She and Evan had passed Sam and Rahne on their way in, both fast asleep on the couch, Rahne curled up in his lap as if she were still in wolf form.  He looked like he had been petting her before they dozed off, his head still placed atop her head, and the two of them had very peaceful smiles adorning their faces.  

In the kitchen itself, Jamie resided over at the counter, chocolate smeared all over his face, eating the biggest sundae she had ever seen.  Kitty, ever the health-food nut, settled for a small bowl of vanilla ice cream with fruit mixed in, while Amara sipped on a strawberry-banana milkshake next to her.  Scott and Jean sat off to the side, playing the unofficial chaperones of the night (everybody pretty much ignored them), while Tabby and Ray were playing "innocent" that night, sharing a bowl.

But by far, the more adorable sight came from Bobby and Jubilee, the two of them standing in the kitchen, leaning over the counter as they ate from identical banana splits.  After the brief episode upstairs earlier, Ryo was glad to see her roommate obviously feeling much better.  Jubilee took her eyes off her treat for a moment to turn and wave, glad to see her finally joining the party, which Bobby took complete advantage of.  Managing to steal her cherry, he popped it in his mouth before she even realized what happened.  Turning back around for another bite, she paused and blinked when the realization hit her that something was amiss.  A snicker to her left drew her attention.

"Bobby!" Jubilee turned to her boyfriend accusingly, but with a smile.

He grinned back innocently. "…what?" She rolled her eyes and stole _his_ cherry in retaliation ("Hey!"), making a show of eating it before he could protest. 

Laughing softly at the couple, Ryo took a good look around the room, smiling at all the familiar faces.  For the first time since she had left the orphanage, she truly felt like she was home. _The Professor was right,_ she thought to herself, smiling inwardly, _No matter what happened before, I'll always have the X-men—_her eyes met with Evan's briefly across the room, —_and true friends to rely on…_

"Umm…hello, people?  I'm _dying_ here!"  

_…whether I like it or not._

___________________  
TO BE CONTINUED…

*note—Sorry if this chapter was kind of a bust…but I guarantee the next few will make up for it, especially those of you who are fans of Todd, Wanda, Kurt, and/or Amanda (hint, hint).  What craziness do I have in store for you all?  You'll just have to wait and see…


	10. Crash and Burn

_Hmm…not as many reviews as usual…oh, well.  Since FanFiction.net's been off and on around the time I posted, I'll blame technical difficulties.  Maybe this chapter will do better.  Yes, it's a bit late in posting, but gimme a break—I was on vacation!  I put a lot of effort into it, and it took a LOT of time; first I wrote out an entire episode script from watching it on KaZaZ, then altered certain scenes both for continuity, and some just for the heck of it. But I did keep a lot of the scenes and jokes.   The end result came out pretty cool…_

_On a side note…*does happy dance* X-MEN: EVOLUTION IS COMING BACK FOR A SEASON FOUR!!!  AND IT'S ALSO COMING TO CARTOON NETWORK!!!  SCHWEET!!!  (If you don't believe me, check it our for yourself at _comicscontinuum.com_!)  _

**Bunny Angel—**Boy, you people sure love your Romy, don't you.  Believe it or not, I got the quote from my 13-year-old brother; we were playing a word-association game, and he suddenly started reciting the whole thing!  Read it in a boy scout manual a year or so ago…can you believe it?

**Pyromaniac—**Yeah, only time I give a signed review is when I'm already logged in.  A St. John fan, huh?  You'll like this chapter—I partially rewrote a few of the scenes so Pyro actually SPEAKS.  *gasp*  And of _course_ Manda and Todd'll be in it.  After all, TTTWATW focuses primarily on Wanda/Todd and Amanda/Kurt.

**Eileen—**Normally, I can't refuse a challenge, but I'm afraid I have to in this case.  Work in school is getting more intense now that we're in the second quarter, and I'm nearing hell week for _Anything Goes_.  And when that's done, I have 6-10pm review sessions for SATs coming up in April, May, and June.  (They're out to kill me!)  Basically, I'll just post whenever I have the time, even staying up late some nights to work on the fic.   Hopefully, you'll still post up new chapters anyways! *puppy-dog eyes* pwetty pwease?

**Lady MR—**Wait…don't tell me you think this story is all happy-happy?  You bring up a good point; it was like once Evan left, he ceased to ever exist.  Seeing as I happen to be an Evan fan, this was something I would definitely have done better. I've decided to let the story play out on its own and see what happens—these things tend to have a mind of their own at times.  The quotes I get from pretty much anywhere I can find them.  I carry around a notebook and constantly write a good one when I see/hear it.  The quote below, for example, was said by the Astronomy teacher at my school earlier this year.  Aha!  You've caught on to my writing style!  ^_^  I do that purposely so many future scenes will remain a surprise, and add an aura of mystery to the air.  Hope it's working.  

**Sabrin—***sweatdrops*  Remy wasn't even IN chapter 9.  Oh, well.  Your prayers are answered anyways, 'cause he DOES appear in the next two chapters.

**[Random Quote:** "When things cool down, they tend to contract…isn't that right, gentlemen?"**]**

Rogue arrived at school the next day a little earlier than usual, wanting some time to catch up on her reading.  She had been a bookworm ever since she was little, often finding an escape from her harsh reality through the pages of numerous works of fiction.  It was one of the few pleasures Irene had allowed the young southern belle amidst her isolated upbringing back home in Caldecott.  

Currently, she was rereading an old copy of _Interview with the Vampire_, by Anne Rice—the pages were folded, the cover worn and torn, but she could never put it down.  It was her favorite book in the world because it gave her characters she could relate to:  Louis, the guilt-ridden vampire who detested the "gifts" he was given without choice…Claudia, the forbidden child vampire who could never grow up, never live the life she had a right to.  But above all else, Rogue cherished the bond they formed over a mutual need for companionship, the unwavering love between them.  In many ways, if reminded her of—

"Hey, knock it off, jerks!"

Immediately recognizing Evan's voice, Rogue snapped her head up and looked around to see where the sound had come from.  She spotted him almost immediately over by the bleaches next to the track field, being ambushed by a couple of seniors.  _Ugh…stupid bullies._ She thought to herself, getting up to lend her fellow teammate a hand.

"You muties think you're better than us just 'cuz you got powers." The taller one spoke up, giving Evan a harsh shove for good measure. "Well, we ain't fooled like the others.  You're nothing but a bunch of freaks, is all!"

Around this time, Rogue stepped up in front of him. "Why don't y'all just leave him alone, huh?" She spat out, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at the two bullies.  They pulled back slightly from surprise, looking to one another briefly before turning back with a sneer.

"Lookie, lookie..another freak come to the rescue.  Why don't _you_ just go back under whatever rock you crawled out of!" He then moved as if to strike her as well.  

That was the last straw.  Throwing his books to the ground, Even got into a fighting position and tensed up his muscles.  "That's it!" Rogue cried out in protest, but it was too late.  A dozen or so bone spikes jutted out from his arms and upper body, ripping his shirt and green hooded sweater to shreds.  The two boys quickly backed away in fear, their eyes wide.  With hardly another word, they turned and ran away in the opposite direction.

 "Wait 'till Kelly hears about this!" they called back before disappearing from sight.

Evan moved to follow, but Rogue grabbed him by the shoulder.  "Spyke, don't!  They're not worth it." He stared after them, his breathing having grown slightly heavy, but obliged.  Calming himself down enough to gain control of his air intake, he turned back to Rogue.  "Now retract those things before you get in trouble."  In reply, Evan closed his eyes and relaxed his muscles, willing the bones to vanish back into his skin.  

After a few seconds, he opened them again in alarm.  "It's not working!" His sight darted from one spike to the next, panicked. _Not again…_ "What's happening to me?"

Rogue seemed just as surprised as him.  Looking frantically to see if anyone else was around, she whispered.  "Come on, porcupine…_concentrate_." Evan nodded wordlessly and closed his eyes again.  He concentrated hard, until he could almost feel the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.  Slowly, the spikes were pulled back in.  

With a sigh of relief, Rogue turned around.  "You go change, I'll try and head those goons off before they tell anyone."  At that, she took off.

All the while, the two bullies were still clumsily running in a desperate attempt to get away from those "freaks" who had _dared_ try to attack on school grounds.  They hardly watched where they were going, glancing backwards every other second to make sure no one followed.  Spending so much time looking behind them, however, neither one noticed who was directly _ahead_, calmly leaning against a tree trunk as if in waiting.  Another mutant, no doubt, with light auburn hair…devilish red-on-black eyes…a cocky grin present as he absently shuffled a deck of cards in one hand….

The boys came to a screeching halt the instant they saw him and froze in place.  The demon-eyed mutant slowly stood up straight, placing his cards safely in the pocket of his brown duster trench coat.  "Remy saw how y' treated de _femme_ jus' now." He spoke up, maintaining a poker face so neutral it seemed more frightening than a glare.  "Gotta say…don' like it at all."

"Oh..yeah?" The taller one blinked, gaining enough courage to speak up, if somewhat weakly.  "What are you gonna do about it, hmm?"

"Simple, _mon ami_.  Gon' give y' a lil lesson in manners, maybe ev'n make gentlemen out o' y'."  

He closed the distance between them, walking over to the one who spoke, who appeared to be the leader of the two.  The boy gulped, leaning back slightly, but otherwise didn't budge.  Gambit smirked at this, his eyes trailing down to the boy's shirt pocket where a couple of pens were clipped.  He pulled one out and, much to the human duo's amusement, began twirling it in between his gloveless fingers.

The bewilderment quickly turned to fear as he released a minute amount of energy into the object—just enough to make it glow a bright red.  "Remy only gon' tell y' once, so y' better lis'n good, _non_?" He impulsively tossed the pen away so that it embedded itself into the tree to his left.  It remained glowing.  The boys jumped from the sudden action, their eyes going from Gambit to the pen and back again.  

The next words that came out were in a menacing whisper.  "Don' mess wit' de mutants."  His red-on-black pupils glared at them so hard it almost burned; finding themselves suddenly able to move, the duo took off in the opposite direction.

"Y-y-yes, sir!" The 'leader' called over his shoulder before they vanished from sight.

Remy watched the two retreating figures with a satisfied grin before he heard something to his right.  Recognizing it almost immediately as Rogue, he swiftly backed up against the tree and did a graceful backwards flip onto one of the lower branches.  He then climbed up higher until he reached a thicker area of brush and leaves, where he could see but not be seen.

Rogue made it about as far as the school oak tree before realizing the two bullies were nowhere to be seen or found.  She was just about to turn back when a sliver of bright light caught her eye.  Curiosity getting the better of her, she made her way over to see what it was.

A pen.  It was a bright red pen, glowing as if it were on fire.  Or as if…  Not taking her eyes off the spectacle, the southern subconsciously removed her right hand glove and hesitantly reached out before she even knew what she was doing.  At first, she pulled away in uncertainty, but on her second try, gently placed all four fingers over it.  

A sudden wave of heart consumed her as exposed skin absorbed what little energy was left in it.  She closed her eyes, a gasp escaping her lips in jubilation.  It was faint, but Rogue knew this feeling, this familiar aura of warmth that spread over her like a thick comforter.  "Remy…" She breathed, sensing him almost immediately.  

He was close—so very, very close.  Opening her eyes, she quickly surveyed the area in hopes of catching even a glimpse of him.  There was none to be found.  

Remy watched from his position up in the tree as she headed off, looking so forlorn and dejected.  He wished desperately he could jump down and wipe away the tears he saw threatening to spill over.  Even as she ran into a couple of her friends (Kurt and Amanda, if he wasn't mistaken—her teammate and his girlfriend) moments later, the Cajun could easily tell that sudden smile on her face was forced.

"_Je suis si désolé, ma chere._" He whispered so softly that he could barely hear himself. _Remy can' protect y' and be wit' y' at de same time.  Can' risk puttin' y' in so much danger… _

Rogue paused suddenly in her steps, but never turned around.  It was as if she had heard him somehow.  From his current position it was impossible to see her expression, but Remy could sense the brief feeling of peace that came to her.  She whispered something in reply, too faint for him to audibly hear, then continued on her way.  His eyes followed her until she was no longer in his line of sight.

The smell of smoke abruptly drew his attention over towards the nearby bridge, where he could just barely make out the summit of flames reaching above roofs of a few of the taller buildings.  Remy hardly blinked twice at the sight.  _Look' like Pyro foun' de femme…_

A few blocks from the school, Scott and Jean noticed the high-rising flames as well.  Even from where they were, they could hear the screams of people caught in traffic trying to run away from the apparent source.  "It's coming from the bridge." Scott observed.

Jean nodded in reply.  "Let's go!"  Without another word between them, Scott sped up towards the impending battle site.

Only moments after calmly stepping out of the taxi cab, Wanda found herself ducking behind the car door to evade a shower of fireballs raining down upon her.  Shielding her eyes from the early morning sunlight, she could just barely make out a shadowy figure on top of the nearest arch blasting fire from twin engines.  Her eyes squinted in an attempt to get a better look at her assailant and for the briefest moment, the flames seemed to take on the image of four horseman atop their noble steeds.  She audible gasped at the sight, remembering reading about them in old story books when she was younger, and took a step back in surprise.

The apparition vanished almost as instantly as it had appeared.

Shaking her head to regain composure, Wanda stood up.  She held out one hand and, with a steadfast glare, sent out a hex bolt in the general direction of the figure.  The sun made it difficult to see, but as her intended target jumped out of harm's way, she could hear the blast reflect off one of the metal beams.  The boy (she had been able to gather that much) resumed his insane cackling as he slid down one of the support cables, shooting off streams of fire and bending them to his will.

It was like he was _enjoy_ it, like this was some childish game.  In between dodging fireballs and attempts at hex-bolting him into the waters below, Wanda's scowl deepened.  

"Pyro…" She hissed, having recognized her father's lackey, and send an even stronger hex-bolt than the previous.  Pyro dodged it too, jumping from harm's way about halfway down the cable with a mid-air summersault and landing about forty feet away from her in a kneeling position.  He stood up, and she braced herself for another attack. It never came.  In fact, he hardly moved at all; he just stood there.  Waiting.

Everyone else had long since run off, leaving the two in a long bout of silence.  Wanda slowly walked towards the mutant pyromaniac, not daring to take her eyes off him.  Still, he didn't move.  The heat from surrounding flames intensified more every minute, as did the crackling sound that accompanied it.  She all but ignored it completely.  Pyro's grin seemed to widen with every step she took, reflecting the light from the fire in an almost eerie manner.  Her expression remaining steadfast, Wanda didn't pause in her steps until she was hardly two feet away from him.

Pyro met her glower with a cocky grin that vaguely reminded her of her brother.  "Miss Scarlet Witch, I presume?" He greeted her in a thick Australian accent, giving her a mock bow.

"I don't like being patronized." She snapped.  Her fists clenched tightly together for a moment in annoyance before she calmed herself down enough to ask,  "Now what is it you want with me?  Or…should I say…that my father wants?"

"Ah-ah-ah," He held up one finger, waving it almost tauntingly.  "Now, that would be telling."

Wanda glared harder, unknowingly beginning to power up again.  "_Where is he, Pyro_?" Her voice raised in volume as her temper grew shorter.  Seemingly unfazed by the younger girl's threatening tone, Pyro continued grinning as he reached into a back pocket, pulling out a slip of paper.  He tossed it over to her and she caught it with one hand, staring at it in uncertainty.  "What the hell is this?"

"Perhaps you should ask your dear brother, Scarlet.  I believe he could tell you more than I."  With that, he took off before she could say anything more.  

Wanda watched him leave for a moment before turning her attention back to the slip of paper, turning it over a few times.  She hadn't the faintest clue what it could be.  _Ask my "dear brother,", huh?  Perhaps Pietro has been keeping secrets from me after all…_ Her eyes narrowed at the thought.  

One by one, the bridge support cables continued to snap under the intensity of the fire, unnoticed by anyone at the time.  It wasn't until a nearby arch beam broke free of it's structure and headed straight for her that Wanda even realized something was wrong.  She looked up instinctively at the last moment, giving out a cry of surprise and ducking reflexively.  The sound of laser striking metal followed a few seconds later, and Wanda glanced upwards just in time to see a red beam of light fly over her head.

She barely had time to react, however, when the ground beneath her started to shake violently; the bridge was collapsing!  Feeling weak from the robust inferno she had been fighting in, Wanda hadn't the strength to keep herself from falling backwards.  All around, numerous abandoned vehicles were rolling off and into the harbor below.  Only quickly reflexes saved her from following them into the frigid waters as she reached out at the last moment and grabbed onto the railing.

Her left hand missed completely, and her right was gradually slipping further…further…until… "Got you!"  A firm hand grabbed hold of her just as she had released her grip.  The sound of rain falling could be heard vaguely in the background as Wanda managed to pull herself back up and onto solid ground again, leaning against the very railing she had topped over moments before.  She placed one hand to her head in pain, wincing as the inevitable migraine began to set in.

"I think he's gone." The redhead voiced her opinion, placing on hand on the younger girl's shoulder in comfort.  "Are you okay?"

Wanda sharply pulled away, irritated. "I'll live."

The shade-wearing boy, who she immediately recognized as the X-geek leader, was looking up towards the sky, where the weather goddess was using the rain to extinguish the last of the flames.  "Storm's got it under control." He bluntly stated the obvious, then turned his attention forward.  "Wanda, was that Pyro after you?"

"Yes." She replied harshly, a renewed anger rising at the sound of his name.  "He was delivering a little message…from my father."

"Magneto?  What kind of message?" Again, from the redhead.  _Jean_, she mentally corrected herself, having heard the name during past battles.

Standing up straight, Wanda turned to leave as she stared at the ticket in her hand.  "I haven't a clue," She called back, then softened her voice to just above a whisper. "But I think I know someone who does…"  The two seniors watched her walk back towards Bayville with a more determined look than ever before.

Having smothered the last of the flames, Storm gently floated down to join them.  She too, seemed a bit perplexed at the girl's tone of voice.  Not a word was spoken between the three as they stared at one another in bewilderment.

That afternoon, there was an uncanny aura of silence that hung over the Brotherhood manner and its current residents.  Despite the fact that it was crisp, clear day, only Lance was actually spending his time outdoors (or, more specifically, toiling away on his wreck of a Jeep in a feeble attempt to keep his mind off other things).  The other three had opted to remain inside, watching television in the living room.  Todd and Fred sat on the floor across from one another, neither saying a word.  But instead of watching the screen, their eyes were more intently focused on the other person in the room.

Pietro sat (more like slouched) on the tattered couch with his feet up on the coffee table and facing the screen, remote in hand.  He'd been unusually silent and unlike himself all day long, and the others were starting to worry about him.  While the two boys exchanged brief sideways glances at one another, he flickered away at the channels, staring at the screen, unblinking.  No smile, no frown…nothing.

It was Todd who finally spoke up.  "You feelin' okay, Pietro?"  He questioned. "You been actin' awful weird since we fought those X-Geeks last night."  But before anymore could be said on the subject, a strong wind outside knocked over the antennae and the picture went static.

Groans of protest erupted from two of the people in the room.  Todd reluctantly stood up and volunteered to fix it, already hopping out the window and up towards the roof before anyone could say anything.  He quickly began fiddling with the wires, having some experience when it came to electronics.

Fred, meanwhile, grew nervous as the tension in the room rose.  Pietro was still staring at the screen as if her were in some kind of trance. "I'm gonna get something to eat." Fred finally declared, moving to stand up.  "You want anything?"

"Ham-sandwich-with-horseradish-butter-lettuce-and-grilled-onion-on-the-side," came the response in one breath.  Fred paused to blink for a moment as he tried deciphering what Pietro had just said, then headed towards the kitchen.

"Let's see," He muttered to himself, "Umm…buttered onion, grilled lettuce, horse on the side…no…uh…"

"And no crust!"

The front door opened and the sound of Todd struggling up on the roof could briefly be heard before it was shut again.  Lance soon walked in the room, wiping off the oil on his hands with an old rag as he entered.  He heard Pietro ask something about his transmission and muttered a reply—he'd been trying to repair it all day and after two hours straight of mechanical work he'd come to a decisive conclusion.  The damn thing was shot to hell.

About that time, a scream and loud *THUD* was heard coming from outside.  Todd had fallen off the roof.  Nobody seemed to notice.

Throwing the rag in the nearest trash can, Lance finally got a good look at his teammate sitting on the couch, staring at a fuzzy screen.  "Hey, you all right?" He asked, concerned.  

"Why does everybody keep _asking_ me that?" Pietro suddenly grew very defensive, standing up in protest with a glare directed straight at Lance.  "I'm perfectly fine, thank-you-very-much."

"Chill, man.  I was just asking!" 

A very light-headed Todd wandered back into the room, followed by Fred carrying a tray of sandwiches.  Pietro took note of their presence and inwardly decided to use this opportunity to turn their attention to things other than his recent mood.  "After all, Magneto put _me_ in charge for a reason.  And do you know what reason that is?  Because, my friends, you need some serious leadership.  Strong, decisive, fearless—"

"_PIETRO!_"

Interrupted mid-sentence, Pietro froze as the unmistakable sound of Wanda's voice rang out.  He turned to look out the window and saw her storming up the walk furiously.  "Ahh!  Wanda!" He screamed in fear, zipping out of the room and into the hall closet. "Don't tell here I'm here!" With that, he slammed the door shut.

Fred and Lance looked at one another, not sure whether to burst out laughing or follow Pietro's example.  Todd, on the other hand, headed straight for the door.  "Babycakes!" He greeted her excitedly as soon as he opened the door, "You've come back to me!"

Wanda all but ignored the frog boy, pushing him aside with ease.  "Where is he?" She demanded to no one in particular.  

Todd jerked a thumb towards the hallway entrance.  "Pietro?  Hidin' in the closet."  She immediately stormed over to the closet door and tore it off with her powers to reveal a whimpering Pietro.  He sent a harsh glare towards Toad, who was leaning up against the wall with a half-hearted grin. "Hey, it was either you or me…"

"All right, Pietro…where's Magneto?" She demanded of him.

"I-I don't know Wanda, I swear!"  Her eyes narrowed into thin slits and she fired up another Hex bolt, but he sped away just in time to escape harm.  She tried again, but he ducked.  With his attention distracted, she managed to catch him off guard and threw him against the opposite wall.  Fred and Lance, drawn by the commotion, appeared at the hall entrance only to halt in their tracks when they saw Wanda.

"How can you lie to me?" Her voice suddenly grew unnervingly calm as she walked towards the spot where he fell.  Holding his head where he hit it, Pietro looked up to see the same vacant expression on his sister's face she had worn only a few nights prior. "He's done some horrible things to me in my life, Pietro—to both of us—but last night was an all-time low."  She paused, giving Pietro enough time to stand up.  He did so, but didn't run away this time.  Wanda walked straight up to him, and spoke her next words softly.  "He took Ryo away from me.  The best and only friend I've ever been able to have, and he took that away."

The three onlookers were speechless, but something was triggered in Todd's mind.  _Ryo?_ He wondered to himself. _Hey, ain't that the name of that new X-chick?_

During the moment of silence, Wanda grew angry again, though this time Pietro wasn't sure if the anger was directed at him or his father.  "_Where is he?!_" She asked again, this time much louder than before.  He winced at her volume, crouching down in fear.

"I still don't know, Wanda." He insisted, his voice breaking. "I…he only contacts me when he needs me."

She stared him down for a moment before deciding he was telling the truth.  For once.  Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the slip of paper Pyro had given her. "What's this?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Was the initial reply. "It looks like a ski lift ticket or something." 

Todd hopped over from where he was watching by the sidelines and took the ticket from Wanda's hand to examine it closely. "Aeraros?" He read the name written on top. "Hey, that must be Mount Aeraros!"

"Mount Aeraros?" Wanda repeated somewhat surprised; she certainly hadn't expected her answers from _Toad_.

"That's the local ski resort." He explained, handing back the ticket before getting a gleam in his eye.  "Say the word, Poopsie, and we'll hit the lodge, sip coacoa by the fire." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.  She groaned in disgust, rolling her eyes as she snapped at him to get out of her way, pushing him aside dismissively.  Not willing to give up so easily, he followed her into the next room. "But, Sweetums…I'm your servant, your slave…"  He leaped in front of her, blocking her exit path. "Just tell me what I have to be to win your love!"

Irritated to the max, Wanda hex-bolted him into a nearby dresser and gave the first response that came to mind: "Someone else."  

She left before Todd could have a change to recover.  But when he did, her answer replayed itself over in his head.  "Someone else?" He muttered to himself.  After a moment of thought, something clicked his mind and he got an idea. "…I can do that!"

Kurt stood outside the Sefton resident at a quarter to six that evening, staring down his ensemble one last time.  He had allowed Kitty to choose his outfit that evening on the grounds that he was too nervous to do it himself and had to admit she'd done a pretty good job.  The slacks were a dark shade of navy blue, matching the tie she had picked out almost perfectly in color, and were extremely comfortable despite their formal appearance.  Kurt had considered wearing a suit jacket, but had been told a crisp, white dress shirt would be nicer.  Before he had left the mansion, she'd handed him a bouquet of flowers with instructions to present them to Mrs. Sefton as a gift, something he hadn't even thought of.

It definitely paid to have a female best friend.

After a moment of mentally preparing himself, Kurt moved to knock on the door, but it opened before his fist could even reach for the knob.  It was Amanda.  "Kurt!" She exclaimed in surprise. "You're early." 

He took this as a bad sign. "Okay, I'll leave." 

Looking down dejectedly, he turned to go back home.  She giggled at his apprehensive behavior and sad puppy-dog eyes, yanking him inside by the collar.  "No, silly, it's fine." Shutting the door behind her, Amanda greeted him with a quick kiss before stepping back to get a good look at him.  "You look very nice, Kurt." She finally commented with a smile.  He nervously smiled back at her.  "Don't worry; everything's going to be _fine_." She whispered, giving his hand a quick squeeze in reassurance.

"It's not zat," He spoke up, holding up his free arm to stare at the object on his wrist.  "I—I just don't know.  My image inducer's been acting up lately.  What if it—"

"But I want them to meet the _real_ you, anyway." She interrupted him mid-sentence, reaching over and turning the tiny machine off.  The normal looking teenage boy suddenly disappeared, only to be replaced by a fuzzy, blue elf-like creature.

Kurt's golden eyes went wide in shock. "Amanda!  What did you do zat for?"  He pulled away suddenly and moved to switch back.  Just then, he heard voices heading towards them and panicked.  Darting his head around in search of an escape, he teleported away, leaving the faint smell of brimstone and a puff of smoke in his wake.  Seconds later, Mrs. Sefton walked into the room.

"Was zat Kurt I just heard?"

Positive that Kurt was still in the house, Amanda searched every room she could think of.  It was nearly ten minutes later when she finally found him.  He sat in her father's study on one of the steps, curled up tightly in fetal position, his inducer still turned off.  Amanda knocked quietly on the door frame; he lifted his head towards the sound.  Wordlessly, she entered the room and sat down beside him.  

"I'm sorry," were the first words out of her mouth.  She reached up with her fingers to gently stroke his hair, tilting her head to the side so she could look him in the eye. "I didn't know it was such a big deal."

Kurt smiled at the touch, but continued to look straight down.  "_Nein_, it's not your fault.  I'm just not ready to show up at your house looking like…like me."  She tenderly kiss him on the cheek before laying her head down atop his shoulder, eyes closed.

"But I love the way you look.  You know that."

His mood brightened considerably as he looked down at the girl next to him, both proud and delighted to be able to call her his girlfriend.  Kurt wrapped on arm around her and kissed the top of her head, earning a smile from her, before resting his own head against it.  "I know, _liebchen_, I know." He sighed. "But you need to understand—I've spent so much of my life in hiding because of my appearance.  At least with ze image inducer, I can pretend to be normal even zough I am not."

A heavy silence fell upon the two, but neither seemed to mind, enjoying the tranquility of the moment.  Nothing more seemed to be said.  It was a mutual agreement between them; Kurt's secret identity as a mutant would remain just that.  A secret.

"Mom, Dad…this is Kurt 'Vah-gner'." Amanda introduced him, glancing back to be sure she had correctly pronounced his name, receiving a nod in confirmation.  Earlier that day, Kurt had taught her the proper German pronunciation and she wanted to be sure and get it just right.

Mr. Sefton extended one hand in hospitality.  "Kurt, a pleasure!"  

Worried about him feeling his fur, Kurt began to panic.  Nervously, he extended the flowers Kitty had given him earlier that evening.  "Um…zese are for you—" Realizing his mistake, he pulled them back and presented them to Mrs. Sefton. "—I mean, for your _mutter_—I mean, Amanda's _mutter_." While Amanda vainly tried to stiffen a giggle, her mother smiled appreciatively, accepting the flowers.

"Thank you Kurt; they're lovely!"  She gave them a whiff before turning towards the kitchen.  "I'll go put these in water."

As she left, Mr. Sefton turned to his daughter.  "Why don't you show him around, Amanda?  I'll get us some cold drinks."  He then followed his wife out of the room, leaving the young couple alone.

"Oh, zey hate me!" Kurt groaned as soon as he was out of sight.

With a small laugh, Amanda grabbed hold of his arm, "Kurt, will you _relax_?" She told him.  "Everything is going _fine_!"  

At this, Kurt lifted his head.  "You're right…I'm being silly.  Now how about zat tour of ze house?"  Reaching up, Amanda gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.

"All right.  Which room would you like to see first?"

He grinned sheepishly. "…yours?"

"Kurt!"

Much to the young couple's delight, dinner went off without a hitch.  The meal was delicious, conversation revolved mostly around details of how Kurt and Amanda met (they were sure to neglect the fact that inter-dimensional dinosaurs had been present at their first date), and the image inducer was working perfectly.  Afterwards, Kurt gentlemanly volunteered to help clear the table and wash the dishes, much to the delight of Mrs. Sefton.

There was something nagging at the back of his mind, something that had been all evening.  "Um, Mrs. Sefton?" Kurt spoke up as he scrubbed away at one of the plates.  "I hope I am not being rude or anyzing, but I was just wondering…where were you born?"  The elder woman smiled knowingly, not even flinching at the question.

"You are very observant, Kurt.  As to your question: _ja_, I come from Germany…as do you, I see." With a slight blush, Kurt nodded.  Margali (he had heard her husband refer to her by that name earlier) gave a slight chuckle before continuing. "As a matter of fact, I met Amanda's _vater_ zere when he was on vacation.  We lived in my hometown for many _jahre_ before Amanda was born."  This caught him visibly by surprise. "Of course, we came to America while she was still very young." 

"So I guess you remember nozing of Germany?" He turned to ask his girlfriend. 

"Nope." Amanda shook her head in response.  "I'd love to go back some day, though."  She gave him a knowing glance which took him a moment to catch onto.  When he did, he blushed so deeply it was visible even through the image inducer, turning his attention directly back to the dish and rag in his hands.  Amanda smirked, concentrating on her own work load

Desperate to change the conversation, Kurt spoke up again.  "I—um—wanted to say _danke_, Mrs. Sefton, for dinner.  It was delicious."

"Well, it was so sweet of you to offer to do the dishes."

Amanda saw this as a great opportunity to heighten her mother's opinion of Kurt even further, securing a spot for him on her good side.  "Oh, Kurt is _very_ considerate.  He gets good grades, too…and he has the _nicest_ friends…" No sooner had the words left her mouth, however, when a sudden, unexpected visitor came crashing in through the window.  Literally. "…Toad?!"  Amanda cried out as she got up.

He perched himself on top of the kitchen sink.  "Hey, elf boy.  I need to borrow this."  He reached out to grab the image inducer off his wrist, but accidentally slipped a bar of soap, falling backwards into the sink.  "Eww!  I touched soap!"

"What's going on in here?" Mr. Sefton's voice called from outside.  

It was then Kurt noticed he was blue and fuzzy.  Quickly, he grabbed the inducer back and turned it on just as Mr. Sefton walked into the room.  But Todd had recovered from his earlier fall enough to spit slime into Kurt's eyes, tackling him while blinded. "Toad!"  He cried out.  "I can't see!"

"Get off him!" Amanda shouted, more annoyed than anything else.  She tried prying the frog boy off her boyfriend, and succeeded in helping Kurt push him off just in time to face her two very shocked and speechless parents.

"Mr. And Mrs. Sefton," Kurt began, "I—I really…apologize for…" But he couldn't get any further before Toad tried jumping him again.  

Kurt managed to escape through the kitchen doors, but Toad came flying through them, grabbing the inducer while Kurt was still down.  He then hopped up on top of the living room chandelier, thinking he'd be safe up there, but it quickly gave in to his weight, falling down and shattering the piano beneath it.  Toad had managed to hop off it just in the nick of time to evade injury, but Kurt used that opportunity to grab his inducer back again mid-air, turning it on just as Amanda and her parents came running in.  

As Margali gasped in terror at the damage, Toad tried for the inducer once more.  He managed to tackle Kurt to the ground, and both unintentionally succeed in knocking over the nearby table and, thus, the vase atop it as well.  "Oh…Grandmother's vase!" Amanda cried out.

"I got it!"  Reaching out, Kurt managed to catch the item in question just before it hit the ground, and managing to hand it safely over to Amanda.  "…Toad!" He cried in exasperation as the boy _still_ wouldn't let up, flipping him over.  Luckily, his quick reflexes allowed Kurt to land feet first on the dinner table, in a crouching position.

Toad tackled him again, and the two wound up wrestling all over the living room.  They were knocking over chairs and completely flattened the coffee table on impact.  Meanwhile, the Seftons tried to pick up some of the plates and other objects that had fallen during the struggle, while Amanda just stood still, watching the fight and holding tightly to the vase.  

Todd and Kurt rumbled on.

It lasted for several moments before Kurt finally managed to toss his opponent through the nearest window, consequentially shattering the glass in the process.  Pausing to catch his breath, he managed to pull himself to his knees before looking over at the Seftons, both who were staring at him wide-eyed. "Mr. And Mrs. Sefton," he managed to get out, wincing from the injuries he had received, "I…I don't know what to say.  I—"  Toad's tongue shot just then and grabbed the inducer, catching Kurt off guard inducer before disappearing from sight. 

Kurt suddenly found himself…well…looking like himself.  He vaguely heard the Sefton's gasping in shock, but unexpectedly grew weary and light-headed.  He was just about to collapse when Amanda appeared at his side. "Kurt!  Are you okay?"  

She smoothed back his navy-colored hair, revealing a nasty looking bruise at the top of his forehead.  Wondering for a moment if he had bumped it hard enough to cause a concussion, she was startled by her father clearing his throat.  They both turned to face her parents, cornered and at a loss for words.  Mr. Sefton looked about as confused as anyone in his position could be.  Mrs. Sefton—Margali—on the other hand, looked like she was about to burst.

Then she did.  "Look at my house!" She exclaimed, "It's _ruined_!"  

"Mom, calm down—" Amanda began.

"Silence, young lady.  I will NOT calm down!" Margali took that opportunity to mutter a few choice words to herself in German that her daughter didn't know, but her husband and Kurt certainly did.  She then turned on Kurt.  "And you!  You are one of zem, _nein_?  One of zose mutants?  I recognize you from ze television."

"Margali…" Mr. Sefton stepped forward, only to be stopped in his tracks as his wife held out one hand, not taking her eyes off the boy.

Her eyes narrowed as she pointed an accusing finger. "Listen here, _dämon_, I want you to stay away from my daughter, _verstehen sie_?  You _und_ zat… 'friend' of yours are nozing but trouble, _und_ I will NOT have you dragging her down with you.  _Und_ you, Amanda," she turned to her daughter, who was still crouched down next to Kurt, "You are not to see zis creature any more, is zat clear?"

Unable to take anymore, Kurt teleported away in grief with tears in his eyes.  "Kurt!" Amanda cried out before turning to her mother angrily.  "How could you be so cruel to him?  He wouldn't hurt a fly, honest!  He was _attacked_!"

"Zat is enough." Margali told her, her voice suddenly growing very weary.  "Zis discussion is over.  Go to your room."

"But, Mom—" 

"Now, Amanda."  Throwing one last glare in her general direction, she quickly turned around and stormed up the stairs.  Her vision had blurred completely by the time she reached her room and she had to fumble for the doorknob a moment before managing to get inside, slamming it shut and flopping herself face-down on her bed to cry. 

___________________  
TO BE CONTINUED…

*note—I had to split this into two separate chapters because already it's my longest one yet (by more than 15KB).  Opening night of _Anything Goes_ is this Friday, so I have rehearsal every friggin' night this week, but I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I possibly can.  


	11. A Girl Worth Fighting For

_I have returned, people!  It's been a rough year for me, but now things are looking up.  I just recently went on a day-long Physics trip to Six Flags: Great Adventure (I got to go on SUPERMAN! ^_^ *holds up picture as proof*), AND I saw X2…which was **awesome**, by the way, although I have one thing to say about it:  …doesn't Jean EVER die?  Oh, come on…like you didn't know that was Phoenix under the water.  Damn girl's gotta be almost as invincible as Wolverine!_

**bunny angel—**I can't help the updating thing; you couldn't even BEGIN to imagine how little time I have to do _anything_.  But I know why you wanna keep reading…*holds up pendulum* You liiike this story…you loooove it…you think it's wooooorth the wait to keep reading…and not just the romy scenes, either.  Admit it.  ^_~  

**Eileen—**The point was to make her parents (especially Mrs. Sefton) sort of overreact on purpose.  I know it's unfair…but if you think about it, a lot of parents would probably react the same way.  Including my own.  

**Pyromaniac—**Yeah…at least he had his Australian accent, though.  Speaking of, have you seen St. John in the movie yet? *_*  Why did they have to make all the guys so damn cute?!  Yeah, I hated Todd in that scene, too.  But you can't stay mad at those big puppy-dog eyes for too long!

**todd fan—**Brilliant? *blink blink* I've never heard that word associated with me before.  I'm glad you're enjoying it so far; it's only gonna get better, I promise.  Considering how well this is going, I'm probably gonna throw a few more episode parallels in the near future, too.  Any particular ones you'd like to see?

**Lady MR—**It all depends upon my mood, really.  For example, one of the upcoming chapters is full of nothing but sporadic insanity, while yet another is a definite tear-jerker.  Believe me; that quote is _nothing_ compared to some of the things said in my school (example: "This question is for the pedophile ring in the corner"—said to my friend Lizzie, who was a senior dating a sophomore at the time, and her cluster of friends in the same predicament).  Of course, we're talking about a place where teachers walk down the hallways with tricycle bells and whoopee cushions…*ducks garbage* LOL—a pun worthy of Lance!  Wanda/Pyro is actually very fun to write, and don't think this will be the last you see of it from me ~hint, hint~  It wasn't hard to figure out which scenes to keep; that's one of my favorites, too.  And yes, there's a reason for making Amanda's family German.  Aside from the mother's accent in the show and the obvious comic reference, I mean.

**ishandahalf—**I promise I'll definitely make up for it later.  Trust me; I'm a big a Romy fan as anyone on this site (I nearly died of happiness when I got to watch _Sactuary_ Part 1 and Part 2 on Sunday.  ^_^ So much Romy mush it made Logan wanna hurl!).  But for now, plot comes first. 

**d—**Why thank you.  The plan is to keep going as much as possible.

**[Random Quote: **"What are you afraid of, a fate worse than death?" "No, just death; isn't that enough?"**]**

The chilling winds had subsided considerably by the time she made it to the Mount Aeros ski lift.  With an exasperated sigh, the sixteen-year-old took a seat on the next available chair, overlooking the scenery.  There was no sign of Pyro for the moment, so she sat back and took a moment to catch her breath.  In spite of the current circumstances, Wanda couldn't help but feel a sense of peace and tranquility as she stared at the snowy-tiped mountains sprinkled with an occasional pine tree, friends and loved ones enjoying themselves making their way down the slopes, although they appeared as little more than colored specks from so far away.

Her mind drifted back to earlier that morning.  Lord knows how, but Toad had somehow managed to find her on numerous occasions already despite her secrecy and numerous hex-bolts delivered.  Even stranger was the fact that he appeared each time as a different person, though she could always tell it was him.  He'd certainly been stalking her long enough….

"Fine day for skiing, _ja_?" An odd German accent brought her out of her musings, and Wanda sensed another presence take a seat beside her just as the chair began to rise. 

She turned to briefly acknowledge this person: "Yes, it's…beautiful." And froze.

There, sitting right next to her, was the most _gorgeous_ guy she had ever seen.  He looked to be in his early twenties (maybe 23 or 24) and over a foot taller than her with golden blonde hair,  a well-toned muscular physique, and sparkling blue eyes.  His gleaming white teeth shone in the afternoon sunlight as he gave her a million-dollar smile, and Wanda (who usually never paid attention to such things) found herself suddenly lacking in oxygen intake.

"I'm Eric, the ski instructor.  I haven't seen you here before."

"No, I-I…" She looked away, feeling an unfamiliar source of heat rush to her cheeks.  That was when her gaze drifted downward, just in time to see none other than Pyro skiing downhill directly beneath her.  The moment was lost as she quickly remembered why she was here in the first place.  "I have to go." Without another word, she hopped off the lift and snowboarded after him, vaguely hearing Eric calling after her to wait.

 _He's toying with me._ Wanda thought to herself as she saw Pyro glance back sporadically to check whether or not she was still following.  He skied up and over one of the more higher-up hills, one she reached just in time to see where exactly it was he was heading: a large, metallic dome right in the middle of the icy field.

Magneto's secret base, no doubt…or at least one of them.  "Magneto." She muttered to herself, her voice filled with a venomous hatred behind it. "…huh?"  Out of seemingly nowhere, three metal orbs barely bigger than her head flew towards her and formed a surrounding circle.  Before she could react, they emitted a strong spray of knock-out gasses; she fell to the ground within seconds, completely unconscious.

Trudging through the snow, Todd cursed his luck.  All morning long, he had been chasing after Wanda in hopes of winning her affections with his new toy, and all morning long he had been found out before the magic could happen.  And _finally_, when it looked like his plan was working…well, he wasn't quite sure what made Wanda jump off the ski lift at that moment, but he knew the timing couldn't have been more horrible.  It was only pure luck that after falling off the chair from the sudden movement and shutting down the inducer, he's been able to look up in time to figure out which direction she was heading towards.  

Being the determined guy he was, Todd wasn't about to give up yet!

But his thoughts were soon interrupted as he reached one of the larger ski jumps just in time to see an cataleptic Wanda being dragged off towards some type of metallic dome in the distance.  "Huh?" His eyes went wide in a mixture of surprise and fear.

"Wanda!"

Seated at his desk, Kurt rested his head in his folded arms, eyes fixed on a simple picture frame holding the only picture he had of himself and Amanda together.  They were smiling…laughing…looking so genuinely happy with their arms around one another.  It pained him to think that because of one night that wasn't even his fault, a moment like that would never happen again.

Kitty had phased through his locked door a little while ago to check up on him, but aside from his best friend's concerned visit, no one else had bothered to try and get the Fuzzy Dude out of his slump.  That was why Kurt was so surprised when a sudden voice called to him from the window: "Hey, Nightcreeper!"  He recognized it almost immediately.

"You!" He stood up abruptly at the sight of Toad crouched on the open windowsill, eyes glaring intensely. "You ruined my life, you bug-eating scab.  Give me back my inducer!" Kurt moved to attack him, but Toad instinctively hopped out of harm's reach, landing safely on the bed.

"Hey, hey…easy there, pal.  I ain't here to fight."  Kurt hurled himself onto the bed, forcing Toad to jump once more onto the other bed in the room. "Actually, I need your help with something."

But Kurt didn't seem to want to listen.  His bright yellow eyes glow with fury as he attempted to tackle the boy one more time.  Toad jumped out of the way again, but this time, he landed on Kurt's back. "Um…I take it this would be the wrong time to ask you for a favor?"  Muttering a few choice words in German, Kurt reached behind him and easily flipped the younger boy over, yet quickly found himself in _Toad_'s hold.  Then he flipped him over again, followed by another attempted tackle.  Toad easily escaped harm by hopping on the desktop.  "Look, I haven't got your inducer okay?"

"_Was_?" 

Toad cringed slightly at the tone. _Oh, boy…still in German.  That ain't good._  "You'll get it back, I promise.  I just need your help on a teeny weeny matter."

Sitting upright, the exhaustion was clearly evident on Kurt's face—both physically and mentally.  "Give me one good reason why I should help you with _anyzing_."

There was a moment's pause where Toad didn't say anything, and Kurt could swear he glanced over at the picture of him and Amanda with a sort of envy.  "Because," he finally replied. "Because it's not for me..." 

A dull pain between the temples greeted Wanda as she slowly regained consciousness.  With a faint moan of discomfort, her eyelids fluttered open only to have them closed shut seconds later from the harsh light of the room.  It was then the realization came to her that she couldn't move her arms or legs, both being restrained by some kind of leather straps.  Flashbacks of those awful straightjackets and restraints she had been forced to wear at the asylum came flooding back to her, causing a brief state of panic when mixed with the after-effects of whatever gas had come out of the orbs.

No sooner did she begin to pull at them, however, when a familiar voice ran out. "The _sheila_ is awake, I see."  Her struggling ceased as she snapped her head up towards the source, eyes glaring if still a bit unfocused.  "I was startin' to get nervous about you, Scarlet.  For a moment, I though the boss had used too much gas."

_Why does he have to keep calling me that?_ She wondered to herself, not giving him the privilege of having her talk back.  Having no desire to even acknowledge his presence anymore, she turned away in hopes that he would leave.  Within seconds, however, a sudden source of warmth appeared in front of her, drawing her attention once more.

A rose.  It was a flaming rose…or, more specifically, a rose-like shape forged from the flames.

For a moment, Wanda forgot herself as she reached out with a curiosity, wishing to touch it.  The heat emitted from it was so inviting; something inside told her it's touch wouldn't hurt her, that it would never.  Her fingers just barely brushed against the burning petals before coming out of her stupor. She pulled back, blowing the fire flower out in one angry breath as her answer.  Pryo seemed unfazed by her actions, kneeling down so he could meet eye-to-eye with her.  The lack of his usual goggles revealed a softened expression in his gaze.  

"I don't mean you any personal harm, Scarlet," he spoke quietly, as if the words were for her and her alone, "Try to understand; I'm only following orders."

"There's much to be said for the company you keep." Came the whispered reply, less harsh than probably intended.  This earned a smile from him; not the coy smirk he usually deployed, but one lighthearted and true.  He reached out and, much to her surprise (and his), gently brushed away a few loose strands of hair that were out of place.  He had taken his gloves off earlier due to the warmth of the room; as his fingers trailed over her skin, he seemed to pause briefly if only to prolong the touch.  

Wanda found herself only vaguely aware of the closeness between them, suddenly unable to tear her eyes away from the boy, although his sight was shifted slightly upwards.  An unfamiliar feeling washed over, and she could feel the heat rising to her cheeks.  The sensation only intensified further as his amber eyes lowered to meet with hers, sparkling from the lights above.  Her breath caught in her throat

The sound of metal doors sliding open off to the side, announced the arrival of a third person.  A sudden voice rang out, breaking Wanda out of the trance she had unknowingly been ensnared in: "And how is our guest faring, Pyro?"  

She recognized it as her father immediately.  Pyro quickly stood to attention, but had yet to turn around; his eyes were still locked with hers.  

"One heck of a _sheila_ you got here, sir." He quipped, still smiling.  "Not much of a talker, though." As Magneto came into sight, Wanda saw that he was not wearing his usual helmet, startled at he hardly seemed to have aged since the last time she saw him.  Even more startling was the striking resemblance to her twin.  

"Leave us."  

The curtness of his tone startled her, and she suddenly realized he was right next to her.  With a nod, Pyro turned to leave at the room, pausing only once at the doorway to glance back.

_I'm sorry..._

And he disappeared from her sight.

With the swish of a cape, Eric Lensherr—his face was currently free of the metallic helmet's obstruction—was directly before of her in the exact same spot Pyro had stood only seconds before.  "Wanda," he greeted her with the same tenderness, but received a colder response.  "You have no idea how good it is to see you again, my daughter."

"I am _not_ your daughter!" She hissed, and the restraints holding her down shook from her powers' fury.  "I ceased being so over eight years ago."  From the quivering of her voice, Wanda realized with a start that she was the one shaking, not her powers.  All the raw hatred buried deep inside her escalated to its pinnacle as she stared at the man responsible for all her suffering.

Eric heaved a sigh, one full of weariness and suffering.   He bend down, resting his palms on the armrests.  When he spoke again, his voice held a hint of desperation in it.  "Please, you must understand.  I had no choice but to leave you there.  Your powers were out of control; you were a danger not only to others, but yourse—"

"_Enough!_" 

The word echoed off the metallic walls, during which time neither of them made a sound.  Eric pulled back, standing up straight so he could once again look down upon her.  His eyes, no longer gentle, were cold and harsh once more, showing a hint of annoyance at her unwillingness to cooperate.  Turning his back to her for a moment, he walked over to a pedestal in one corner, where his signature helmet lay, and placed it over his head before heading back to Wanda.

No longer Eric, he had once more become Magneto.

"This little mission of your in life to kill me has been a hindrance on my plans as of late."  She wasn't sure if he was serious or joking around with her.  He didn't seem much like the joking type.

"Everyone's got to have a hobby." She quipped back, maintaining a steadfast glare.     

"Really, Wanda, I had hoped we could have settled this in a more civilized manner, but now I see that won't be possible." He extended one hand and, without looking, slid open a hidden door off to the left.  Out of the corner of her eye, Wanda saw a figure emerge from the shadows hunched over a crooked, wooden cane.  "Mastermind here is going to alter your memories of the past eight years.  Hopefully, your mind won't be too damaged in the process." 

Her gaze switch back and forth between him and Mastermind, finally resting on her father once more.  "Is that what you did to Ryo?" She accused, her voice filled with a sudden passion that surprised even him.  "Did you alter _her_ memories, too, so that she'd be driven to _attack_ me?!"

"Ryo?" He repeated the name without a hint of familiarity. "I know of no one by that name."  Anger quickly filled Wanda, convinced that he was lying.  But before she could open her mouth to accuse him of such, her eyes met his…and for a brief moment, locked.  His normally crystal-blue pupils seemed oddly lacking in color, they held a strangely familiar glazed look at the mentioning of her childhood friend and companion.

_He really doesn't remember her._ She thought in sudden realization.  _But, then…who…_

Magneto stepped back, showing no signs of concern for the girl as he allowed Mastermind to take over.  Slowly placing the cane against the chair, Mastermind raised his hands, palms facing inward just above her temples.  But it wasn't until she felt the familiar tingle of a foreign presence fighting for entrance to her mind that Wanda was drawn out of her current bewilderment, finally able to register everything completely.  

Her eyes went wide with sudden fear, then quickly shut tightly as she tried to fight it.  She could already sense the images of her mind shifting… changing… disappearing all together….  Mastermind could obviously sense her resistance, grunting from the mental strain.

_You're only making it harder on yourself…_  She heard him say to her as her vision began to blur.

Then everything went black.

It didn't take long for the two of them to reach their destination.  Surprisingly—and Kurt had to give the frog-boy credit for this—Todd seemed to have remembered exactly where to go, hardly pausing even once.  He was acting very different from the Toad he was familiar with.  He wasn't quite sure exactly what it was, but he knew it definitely had something to do with who it was they were saving.

The overhead sun indicated the time to be no more than a few hours past noon when they reached the snow drift, overlooking the giant dome that was no doubt Magneto's hideaway.  

"All right, here's the deal," Todd immediately took charge, eyes scanning the parameter for any signs of those mini-spheres he saw attack Wanda, "You get us in and I'll to the damsel rescuing, got it?"

"And _zen_ we get my inducer back?" Kurt knew he was being selfish, but he couldn't help it.

Todd visibly winced at the German mutant's tone.  Pulling back from the snow, he turned to look at his temporary comrade, who was sitting couched in the snow.  "Yeah, about that…" _I'm gonna regret this._ He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the object in question, dangling it in front of him by the watchband.  Kurt's eyes widened.

"I don't believe you!" He screeched, "You had it on you ze whole time?" Angrily, he snatched it away and placed it back on his wrist. "Zat's it; I'm out of here!"

"No, wait!" Todd held his arms out in defense, receiving a harsh glare in response.  Heaving a sigh, he lowered them and looked to the ground.  "Okay, I screwed up; I admit it.  I thought…I thought that maybe if I looked—well—not like me, that Wanda would gimme a chance, y'know." Sitting down with his back leaning against the snow drift, he looked back up at Kurt, whose expression had turned neutral.  "You have no idea how lucky you are, Fuzzball.  You got someone like Amanda, who genuinely cares about you, no matter how you look or what you are."

"You mean I _did_."

Despite himself, Todd managed a smile.  He even chuckled.  "I deserved that, I guess.  Y'know," he continued thoughtfully, "Hiding who we really are from the world, that's somethin' you and me kinda got in common."  Kurt was fiddling subconsciously with his watch as he spoke.

"Zat is true," He replied, his voice softening as his anger departed, "But I never had to hide from Amanda."

"Like I said; you don't know how lucky you are."  A moment of silence passed between them, in which the air seemed thick with tension.  Staring down at his unofficial rival, Kurt was at a loss for words.  He almost felt sorry for him, being able to relate somewhat to what the poor boy was going through.  He couldn't even imagine what it would be like were it Amanda in danger and their roles were switched. 

But Todd didn't need his pity right now; he needed help…and if he was desperate enough to come to _Kurt_ to get it, well…

Groaning in defeat, Kurt slapping a palm to his forehead, shutting his eyes. "Oh, somebody shoot me." He muttered under his breath.  Todd heard him and, knowing instantly what that meant, stood up in delight.

"All right; you my main elf!" In one swoop, he grabbed the watch inducer back from Kurt and slapped it down on his own wrist.  "Time to rescue Wanda!"  

With a press of the buttons, the image of Todd faded out only to be replaced with that of a tall, well-built blonde…otherwise known as 'Eric.'  Kurt groaned upon seeing this: "Oh, no you don't!"  He snatched the watch away, and Todd reappeared.

"Hey!"

"Don't you 'hey!' me." Kurt snapped back, this time placing it in his pocket for safekeeping.  "Weren't you listening to me before?  _Mein Gott_, I don't know what's worse, your choice of image or your attempt at a German accent.  If you wish to play ze hero, it's going to be _you_ doing ze rescuing, not some Duncan Mathews look-alike, _verstehen Sie_?"  He gave Todd a moment to think about it before reaching out his hand.  "Hold on to somezing!"

With a *bamf!* the two vanished, leaving behind a faint trail of smoke.

"Stare at dat door any longer, _mon ami_, an' Remy t'ink y' gon' burn a whole t'rough it."  

St. John hardly blinked in response to the Cajun's light-hearted comment.  In fact, he hadn't moved once from his current position—leaning up against the wall directly opposite the entrance to the room, arms folded and eyes glued to the door—since Magneto had ordered him to leave not ten minutes prior.  His two comrades were also close at hand, as Magneto had requested should he be in need of assistance; Gambit was the closest, sitting on a crate by the adjacent wall, while Colossus opted to sit on the floor directly opposite him, a pad of paper resting in his lap as he occupied himself with various drawings.

As the seconds ticked by, he grew more and more unnerved.  This was the first time the Acolytes had been kept out of the loop while on a mission, although it hadn't seemed like much to him.  Oh, sure, he got to have a little bit of fun for a while, burning bridges and causing mayhem (always a plus), but the rest was like a bizarre game of cat and mouse.  And that girl…

Wanda.  

The Scarlet Witch.

Why was he suddenly thinking about her so much?  I mean, she certainly wasn't lacking in the looks department—that was obvious from the moment he first laid eyes on her—but that wasn't it.  There was just something about her, something he'd never noticed in another girl before.  And back there, in the room…  Something had overcome him, like he suddenly wasn't thinking straight.  Or even thinking at all.  It was as if all the rest of the world had vanished and there was no one but the two of them.  Looking back, St. John began to wonder what might have happened if Magneto hadn't shown up when he did….

That was the other thing on his mind.  He's been doing a bit of background research in his spare time when things got boring around the base, and was more than a little shocked to discover the fact that she was his _daughter_, the twin sister of Quicksilver.  There was little other information about their connection, however, other than the fact that he'd placed her in a mental institution a few years back when her powers first manifested…but from the looks of it, it seemed he had done so out of concern for her safety.  But then, if all this was true, why would he have ordered her to be captured and restrained?  He was so confused.  

Something was amiss, he was almost sure of that.

Seeing a frown appear and then deepen on his comrade's face, Remy stood up.  A wide grin was evident on his face; the Australian mutant was emitting his emotions so loudly, they were all but impossible to ignore, and his empathy was able to pick up every last vibe with ease.  What was so amusing, though, was despite all the confusion and uncertainty Pyro felt at the moment, Remy knew exactly what was happening to him (hell, he'd gone through the same thing himself not that long ago).

He was falling in love with Wanda.

St. John was so deeply into his thoughts, he nearly jumped when a hand was placed on his shoulder, diverting his attention to a now-smirking Remy Lebeau.  He knew that smirk; it always meant Remy was up to something.  

Sure enough, the Cajun had decided to have a bit of fun at the pyrokenetic's expense.  "Y' be lookin' awful worried f'r de guy dat captured her in de firs' place," He asked, innocent except for the smirk.  Pyro hated that smirk. "Remy startin' t' t'ink dere be some alternative motive, _non_?"

"_Non_." Pyro mockingly replied before muttering under his breath. " 'Remy' thinks too much."

Unfortunately for him, Remy had sharp hearing. "Don' know 'bout dat.  Maybe we jus' need a second opinion.  What do y' t'ink, Poitr?"  The Russian looked up at hearing his named called, an uncharacteristically evil grin tugging at his lips.  Without a word, he held up the current drawing he had been working on so they could see.  Upon getting a good look, Remy vainly tried to stiffen his laughter while Pyro simply glared. Even Poitr gave a slight chuckle.

"I hate you both."

It was an extremely lifelike image of Wanda that border-lined impressive, especially considering it had been done from memory.  Behind her was a drooling caricature of St. John, complete with wide eyes, his tongue hanging out, and a dozen or so little hearts all around his head.  

The good-humored moment was cut short, however, when Remy suddenly froze in place. "Y' hear something?" The noise was faint, a muffled sound coming from behind the door.  Voices, and neither Magneto's nor Mastermind's.  "Dere's an intruder in de room.  Let's go."

Kurt heard the footsteps heading towards them from where he stood.  He quickly turned to face Todd, who was fiddling with the chair straps.  "Hurry up, will you?  Somebody's coming!"  He teleported over to see what was taking so long.  Both boys had been somewhat surprised to find an unconscious Wanda left unguarded in the room, but rather than waste precious time brooding over it and risk getting caught, they decided to count their blessings.

"Hey, I skipped this day in hero class, okay?" Todd snapped back, getting somewhat frustrated.  "You got a better idea?"

In a burst of inspiration, Kurt grabbed a hold of Wanda's arm and bamfed her out of the chair.  "Just zat."  He handed her over to Todd—who was amazed to discover just how light she felt, like it had been days since she last ate—just as the metal doors behind them started to open.

"Time for the get-out-of-town express!" Todd exclaimed as Kurt grabbed hold of both him and Wanda, teleporting them out of the room.  Seconds later, the Acolytes ran in.

The first thing Pyro noticed what the vacant chair where Wanda had been earlier.  His eyes went wide in alarm and he started muttering a few choice words.  Remy, on the other hand,  was more trained as remaining calm in such situations and came to a stop to better observe the scene.  A few seconds later, a familiar scent caught his nose and he sniffed the air.  "Y' boys smell dat?"  Colossus and Pyro looked at him oddly for a second before following suit.  Pyro winced at the stench, waving his hand in front of his face a few times, while Colossus nodded in confirmation.

"Brimstone."

"Wait…why would the X-men come for her?" Pyro asked, "I thought they were rivals." Yet the relief of knowing she was in safe hands was clearly evident on his face, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.  

"Dere's a fine line b'tween friendship and rivalry," Remy stated with a shrug.  "An' dey been known t' cross it on more den one occasion."

None of the boys, however, noticed the two figured lurking in the doorway, watching them from the shadows.  One appeared to be leaning heavily against his wooden cane while the other maintained a steadfast glare towards the empty seat.  With hardly a glance towards the man beside him, Magneto's abrupt question broke the heavy silence between them.

"Did you finish the job?" 

It took a moment for Mastermind to catch his breath before he could even reply.  "Her memories have been altered." He then winced as if in pain, holding one hand to his forehead for a moment before continuing.  "But it took more energy than I thought.  The child has an incredibly strong will, and I often had to fight her mind's resistance to the change."

"You haven't answered my question, Jason." Magneto calmly stated, though he was obviously impatient.  "Is the job done?"

After a brief pause, he finally answered. "Yes."

"Very well then." He abruptly turned to leave. "I thank you for your assistance.  You are no longer needed."  As Jason Wyngarde watched him disappear down the hallway, the feeling of dread returned.  In all this years as a mutant illusionist, he'd never encountered a mind quite like the young Wanda Maximoff's before—traumatic, random, heavily guarded—and for the first time, he'd briefly lost control of the illusion.  Not very long, just for an instant, but the struggle she had so valiantly put up left him unsure of the outcome it would have on her psyche.

He could only pray, for her sake, that she would come out of it all right.

Kurt glanced out the window one last time, checking to be absolutely positive that no one had followed them back to the cabin before turning away.  His gaze drifted over to Todd standing in the middle of the room.  Wanda was still unconscious in his arms, as he had yet to put her down, and he was gazing down at her like she could vanish at any moment.  "How's she doing?" Kurt asked after a moment of silence.

"Okay, I guess.  She's just exhausted from the whole thing."  Kurt walked over towards them, and Todd's voice grew softer, more serious.  "You know, people give her a lot of grief for being so mean-spirited and cruel all the time, but you can't really blame her.  I don't.  Nobody should ever have to go through the things she has, especially not alone."

"She certainly is a survivor." Kurt commented, not sure of what else to say.

This earned a faint smile from Todd.  "She's the strongest person I've ever known."  He shifted her weight slightly in his arms and she stirred a bit, turning her head so that it rest comfortably against his chest.  She didn't smile, but she looked unbelievably happy and comfortable for once in her life.  The opportunity was too great to resist; gently, he leaned down and planted a soft kiss on Wanda's forehead.  His lips brushed against the skin, lightly so as not to disturb her.  As hoped, she hardly even blinked.

Kurt watched the touching interaction with a somewhat fascination.  "You really do care about her, don't you?"  For the first time since they'd arrived, Todd looked up so he could meet him eye-to-eye.

"Yeah.  Lord knows why, but I do." He gave a light chuckle to ease the mood a bit before changing the subject.  "Think you're rested enough to 'port us outta here yet?"

"I believe so.  Here we go." Seconds later, they vanished once more in a puff of sulfurous smoke.

A few hours later, Todd staggered into the living room, where Wanda was still sleeping, with a huge bucket filled with ice water in tow.  Placing it on the floor, he knelt down beside her to check the cold compress on her forehead.  He frowned; she'd started to develop a low fever soon after they'd arrived back at the house, and it was getting worse and worse with the passing of time.  Already, she was breaking out into a cold sweat and shivering.  

Luckily the closet still had a few more blankets left to wrap her in.  When that was finished, he dipped the compress into the water to re-cool it and used a dry cloth to try and wipe away some of the perspiration on her face.  No sooner had the material touched her skin when she gave a low groan and her eyelids fluttered open.

He pulled back.  "Sorry about that.  I didn't mean to wake you."  She turned her head towards the sound of his voice, looking a little dazed.  "How are you feeling?"

Wanda didn't answer right away,  placing one hand to her forehead and closing her eyes.  She then moved to sit up, and Todd reflexively wrapped his arms around her shoulders in assistance, blushing slightly from the skin contact (he'd removed her jacket when they got home, leaving her in the red leather tank top underneath).  She didn't seem to notice, even smiling briefly at him for the gesture.

When she was comfortably propped up against the armrest, she tried talking.  "What happened?" Her voiced cracked slightly from having just woken up.

"That depends.  What's the last thing you remember."

She looked down at the blankets clutched in her hand for a moment before turning back to him.  "I…don't know."  Then, as if noticing for the first time where they were, her eyes traveled across the room, looking for something.  "Where did everybody go?" She wondered out loud.

"Well, Lance and Freddie went out for the evening," He replied after a moment of thought.  "And you're brother's already asleep upstairs; 'said he had a long day and was beat."  Turning away for a moment, Todd stood up and bent down to retrieve the ice water. "You feeling hungry?  I'm heading back to the kitchen any—Wanda!" When he looked back, she was leaning against the couch back, clutching her head.  Tears were already trickling down her cheeks.

"Make it stop, please." She whimpered in between sobs.  "It hurts… Somebody make it stop!"

He dropped the bucket so abruptly it tipped over, the water spilling out all over the floor.  Rushing to her side, he sat down on the couch next to her, leaning in to get her attention. "…Wanda?  Wanda!"  Not knowing what else to do, he started stroking her hair to calm her down, peeling away a few strands that were plastered to her forehead.  "Shh…it's okay.  I need you to calm down, all right?  Take a few deep breaths."  She nodded to let him know she was listening, her sobbing already dwindling down, then did as he told her.  Her arms soon came down.  "That's my girl."

Under any other circumstance, Todd might have been enthralled by the situation.  Here was Wanda, the girl of his dreams, in his arms…and she had yet to electrocute him.  But Todd Tolensky deserved more credit than most people gave him for; he may have been an ambitious amphibian, but he certainly wasn't heartless—he knew this wasn't the time for such things.

"Try going back to sleep, all right?" He gently coaxed her into lying back down, which she hesitantly obliged to, yet refused to let go of his hand.  Almost like a child.  As the last of her tears subsided, she settled down into a peaceful slumber.  

Todd waited a few minutes to be sure she was fast asleep before carefully getting up, removing his hand from hers.  He tip-toed as quietly as possible to the door, throwing on his jacket and checking to be sure the envelope was still in the pocket before heading outside.

A small voice stopped him in his tracks.  "Where are you going?"  He hesitated, still in the doorway, but didn't turn around.  After a slight pause, he responded as softly as he could.

"Go back to sleep Wanda.  I'll be right back.  I've just got a small favor to repay."     

Amanda Sefton lazily wandered into her room after a tiring day of avoiding her parents.  She was still clad in her pajamas from the night before, having not bothered to get dressed that day since it was a Saturday, and her eyes were red from crying.  If it weren't for a slight gust of wind outside her window, she might not have seen the crisp, white envelope slipped through the cracks of her window, flapping from the breeze.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she sat down on her bed and opened it:

_~Amanda~_

_Can't say I blame you for being mad about the other night.  I guess I wasn't thinking straight, and kinda made a bad choice.  But I'm not asking for your forgiveness, if that's what your thinking.  I already know there's a slim chance of that.  All I ask is that you try not to blame Blue Boy for all the damage.  You two got something really special, and it'd be a shame to see all that go to waste just 'case your folks ain't the biggest mutant fans around.  You never cared about that stuff, did you?  Hopefully, you still don't.  Bl—Kurt really cares about you, you know…you can see it in his eyes, and knowing what he's been through in the past, you're probably one of the best things that ever happened to him.  The rest of us should only be so lucky.  Think about it._

The note was unsigned, although Amanda had a pretty good idea who it was from.

She stared at the note for a long while, rereading it over a few times before finally setting it down on the dresser.  After thinking about it for a moment, she got up and walked over to her vanity mirror and sat down.  She picked up the extension line in her room, pausing only once before making up her mind and dialing a number she knew by heart.  It rang twice before a girl around her age answered.  

"Hey, Kitty?  It's Amanda." She paused, allowing the girl to speak.  "Yeah, I'm okay.  Listen…can I talk to Kurt?"

___________________  
TO BE CONTINUED…


	12. Just a Friend

_It seems that my laptop has finally won the war by going kamikaze on me and refusing to work.  It held this chapter hostage for over a month before I finally gave up and had to retype it again.  *sigh*  I hate technology…_

_Well, it certainly took me a while, but **Primary Colors** is back with a vengeance.  A majority of the blame goes to my ex-laptop *points to what is now a pile of smoldering ash* and inordinately busy schedule.  Then again, this chapter is also my longest to date, with a word count of close to 10,000.  Rest assured that I have absolutely no intentions on quitting any time soon…especially since the future of _Evolution_ has yet to be determined.  _

**todd fan—**Hmm…Pyro and Todd duking it out… frog's legs, anyone?  LOL.  Just kidding.  I'll see what I can do about _Shadowdance_…it'll be kinda hard since all that episode meant to me was the beginnings of Kurt/Amanda and some fun moments with Lance/Kitty (inter-dimensional dinosaurs?  What inter-dimensional dinosaurs?).  And you should know better than to use the C word when there's a change of Pietro listening.  ^_~

**Neva—**You're very welcome.  Sorry this one took so long…technical difficulties and all….

**Pyromaniac1—**Actually, there are fanbases for both Todd/Wanda _and_ Pyro/Wanda.  I happen to be a fan of both.  To be honest…I'm not quite sure how this is going to end, either.  It's one of those things that has to play out on it's own.  Time will tell.

**pietro_kitty—**Wow.  Three "goods" and two "greats."  You must _really_ like this story!

**ishandahalf—**It's not an _Evolution_ episode, it's an episode from the original animated series.  Sometimes, one of the cable stations decides they want to air a few weeks worth of _XM:TAS_ just to tease us.  Sorry about the lack of romyness so far, but you have to under stand that this isn't a romy fic, it's just a fic with romy in it.

**bunny angel—**Hmm.  That is strange.  Y'know, I hear that random memory loss is a side-effect of hanging around telepaths for too long.  Er…XAVIER DID IT!  *runs away*

**LadyTrunks—**Yeah, I probably should write summaries…but why ruin the surprise?  ^_~  Okay, so I'm just lazy.  Sue me.  Believe it or not, I didn't even plan the pyro/wanda.  It just kinda happened as I typed.  And once again, sorry 'bout the wait…believe me, it was more frustrating on MY part than it was for any of you.  Not only do I have the entire story all planned out, but I've even got the entire _sequel_ planned out!  Gah!  Imagination overload!

**Doublekidz—**Nope, last time I checked, I was the one in charge.  You might be thinking of another fanfic that does episode parallels…there are quite a few out there.  I hope the confusion didn't get in the way of enjoying the story, though.

**this is s e x—**Thanks.  Luv the penname, btw.

**Foxglove33—**Yay!  A devoted fan!  Always wanted one of those… I know what you mean about standing up to your parents; my mom's two inches shorter than me, but my dad's a former sea captain, with the height and voice to prove it.  0.o

**melissarxy1—**I have no intentions of stopping this fic until it's finished, trust me.  It may take a while, what with life happening and all, but I will work on it.  Wanda/Todd are cute, aren't they?  I wish they'd gotten together on the show.

**WinkyBells—**The "Scarlet" nickname was yet another randomly-occurring thing that just seemed to fit.  Sometimes, I think this story writes itself.  Will Todd get a girl?  To quote Pyro: "Now that would be telling!"  ^_~

**Witch-Uk—**Another Pyro/Wanda fan.  Hmm…

**evanescence kicks ass—**That's not pathetic.  I still have links of stories I read over three years ago that I still check out every so often.  Mainly _Gundam Wing_, but that's beside the point.  I'm flattered that the creators of that site asked to host my fic, especially if that's how you found it.  I wish I could say if they're hooking up or not…but I'm not even sure.  

**[Random Quote:** "Careful…your roots are showing." "Where?!" "I meant your heritage, not your hair."**]**

The same day as Todd and Kurt's rescue mission, Jubilee's parents arrived at the Institute to take her home.

It was shortly after five in the afternoon when the telltale yellow cab pulled into the mansion gates, stopping just before it reached the front door.  Tensions were thick as its two occupants stepped out, their faces displaying a range of emotions varying from anger to uncertainty to relief.  

Mr. Lee was a tall, well-built man easily in his early fifties.  Streaks of silver ran along the sides of his hair, though the crown was still covered with a thick mop of black.  Physically, he appeared to be at his peak.  But it was his eyes that really gave away the man's age; the wisdom and parental concern they held rivaled that of the Professor's.

Mrs. Lee's eyes mirrored those of her husband's.  She was much younger than he, only in her mid- to late thirties, and stood hardly taller than her foster daughter.  Her pale blonde hair was cut just below the chin to frame her face beautifully, and along with her extremely fair skin, gave her a facade of delicateness.  The aura of poise and revere she emoted, however, more than made up for her diminutive stature.  It was easy to tell at a glance how the Lees complimented one another.

Neither were Asian.

Even then, they had been running much later than anticipated due to Long Island's murderous weekend traffic, so that left very little time for goodbyes.  Mr. Lee stepped forward, his wife much preferring to view things from besides the taxi.  "A few words with you, Professor?" he spoke in a rich baritone. "If you don't mind."

"Certainly."

The two men drifted off to one side as they engaged in conversation, leaving a heavy silence in the air as Jubilee stepped outside, suitcases in hand.  The entire mansion had gathered to see her off, most already having said their personal goodbyes earlier in the day but still wishing to be there for moral support.

There was, of course, her familiar clique of female New Recruits—Tabby, Rahne, Ryo, and Amara—who were the first to envelop the girl in a large group hug.  Much squealing was involved.

Next in line was Jamie, who (despite all the teasing and such he had endured at her hand over the past year) openly admitted he was going to miss one of his "big sisters."  And the pranks she and Bobby used to pull late at night.  Laughing faintly, Jubilee pulled the twelve-year-old into a warm embrace, ruffling his hair one last time for good measure.  He swatted her away, but didn't verbally object.

The three New Recruit boys each gave the girl a quick hug, wanting to remain as cool as possible in such a situation.  Few words were muttered aside from the usual "take care" and "keep in touch," though Sam did remark on how their late-night joyrides just wouldn't have been the same without her.

"Now who are we going to get to fry up the controls mid-flight?" he joked.

Most of the older kids hung back, feeling slightly out of place.  None of them had really gotten to know Jubilee that well, not being a part of the Newbies inner circle and all, though it wouldn't be wrong to say she had still been a big part of their lives—she and Bobby _had_ managed to prank the lot of them at least once, after all.  And speaking of…with all said and done, Jubilee finally turned to the last person in line.

Bobby.

His hair was ruffled into its usual unruly mess and his smile was as mischievous as ever.  Having already promised herself she wouldn't cry, Jubilee choked back the sobs threatening to overwhelm her as she wordlessly closed the gap between them.  Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, she buried her face in his shoulder as his arms gently encircled her tiny waste.  The two were vaguely aware of the numerous pairs of eyes on them at that moment, yet for once, neither cared.

Their relationship was practically legendary at the Xavier Institute, a legacy fueled by everything from the tender moments shared when they believed no one was looking, to the outrageous pranks and gags which had victimized even Logan.  They were the Bonnie and Clyde of Bayville, as their friends had so appropriate dubbed them, a title held with the utmost respect and pride.  Masters of the mischievous.  Prince and Princess of the Pranks.

But for the moment, they were simply Bobby and Jubilee.  Two teenage kids about to be separated by close to three thousand miles.

"I don't want to go, Bobby." Jubilee whispered as she lifted her head to look him in the eye.  "California's too far away.  I don't want to go back.  I want to say here, with you."  She sounded childish and spoiled, and she knew it.

In response, Bobby reached up and kissed her on the forehead.  "I know, Angel," he murmured so only she could hear.  It was a special nickname he had for her, one he only used in private.  "But look at it this way; it can't be for too long, right?  You'll be back before you know it, smacking me in the back of the head for doing something stupid, like always." 

This drew a small bout of laughter out of her.  "You mean there's a few brain cells in there I _haven't_ killed yet?" She asked teasingly.

"Might be."

Her smile grew brighter.  Bobby always knew how to make her smile, no matter how upset she was feeling at the time or how bad things got.  It was one of the things she loved most about him, that had drawn them together in the first place.  And it was with that in mind that she leaned forward until her forehead rested against his, closing her eyes.

"I love you." She whispered, her hair loosely falling forward so none of the eavesdroppers could see her lips moving.

If Bobby was surprised, he didn't show it.  A brief moment of silence passed between them before he finally whispered back: "I know."  

It was his way of saying he felt the same way, and Jubilee knew him well enough to understand.

"Ironic, ain't it?"

"What is, Logan?"  Ororo turned her sights to the burly man standing beside her.  The two of them had joined their pupils outside earlier, though at the moment they simply stood off to the side, close enough to be considered a part of the farewell party, but far enough away so that the others couldn't hear their conversation.

In spite of himself, Logan allowed a sigh to escape his lips.  "We've be able to train these kids in high-level combat simulators…they've been on the run from military…been hunted by mutant-hunting Sentinels…heck, they've seen more and been through more in the span of one month than most people should ever have to deal with in a lifetime.  And yet, something so trivial as saying goodbye…"

"Separation is never an easy thing, at any age." Ororo interrupted.  "You, of all people, should know that."

"They've been separated before." He reminded her.

"Not for this great a distance over this length of time."  She answered back.  "You must remember; it's true that the children have been through a lot this past year.  But no matter what they've faced, they've faced it together, and that's what helped them though it."

Logan scoffed lightly.  "Children?  It's easy to forget that sometimes.  These kids've been forced to grow up way too quickly, Ororo, and we both know it."

"Perhaps…but is that really such a horrible thing?"  This time, Logan turned to face her with a look of confusion.  With her eyes diverted towards the scene unfolding before her, she gave a knowing smile.  "Just look at them.  Bobby and Jubilee.  Just barely teenagers, yet already so in love.  Truly and purely, with all the innocence of youth.  Can you honestly tell me that something so precious, so rare this day and age, isn't worth the struggle?"

For once, Logan was absolutely silent.  He glanced from Ororo's smiling face to the kids and back again.  She had such an ominous look about her, one only a proud mother-like figure could possess, that he felt inclined to agree.  But the natural misanthropist in him refused to allow whatever vision it was she saw.

In the end, the question was left unanswered.  

The sun rose early the next morning only to be greeted by a gorgeous, cloudless sky.  By seven o'clock, it was already well past fifty degrees Fahrenheit, and expected to hit sixty before noon.  Unusually mild weather for mid-November, though Storm insisted she had nothing to do with it.  Apparently, Mother Nature had chosen to smile down upon the New York island for once.

This, added to the present mood in the air over Jubilee's departure (particularly that of the New Recruits), gave Xavier little reason why the students shouldn't be give a day off from training.

It was during breakfast that the official announcement was made, quickly followed by an expected chorus of cheering and whooping.  Even as he was leaving the kitchen and headed up the stairs, Evan could still hear the sounds of an animated discussion in progress.  A picnic in the park was definitely in order.  Okay, so it was a "group" picnic—according to Scott—but it was still better than dodging lasers and running obstacle courses all morning.  Just as the voices faded away, however, another sound drew his attention.  It was faint, musical, and coming from the girl's wing.

That was when he remembered Ryo.  Mr. McCoy still had her on a restricted training schedule, so she didn't participate in the usual morning sessions.  And that morning in particular, she'd wanted to utilize the extra free time by cleaning out her room.  With Jubilee gone, Professor Xavier had given her permission to turn the double-occupancy into a single, and she wanted to get started on that immediately.  (In fact, Evan had gotten the distinctive feeling that she was more than just alluding to his assisting in moving the heavier furniture later on.)

But if she was still upstairs, she hadn't heard about the rest of them getting off of training as well.

So he made a quick three-sixty upon reaching the balcony and headed down the girl's wing instead.  The sound grew louder with every step he took.  By the time he reached his intended destination, there was no doubt in his mind where it was coming from.  Music blared out from the slightly ajar doorway.  _Bohemian Rhapsody,_ his mind registered.  _Not a bad choice._

Knowing very well he risked the Wrath of Ryo (a horrible fate, as Bobby could attest to) if she caught him spying on her, Evan allowed his curiosity to win him over anyway.  Quietly, so she would be able to hear him even with her sensitive hearing, he creaked open the door further for a better view.  The opening chords of a new song rang out as he did so, though he didn't recognize the tune.

_"First, when there's nothing…but a slow, glowing dream…that your fear seems to hide…deep inside your mind…"_

It was a slow ballad, featuring a rich female alto.  Most likely some 1980s hit, knowing Ryo.  Definitely not his style of music.  But something about the lyrics rang a bell of familiarity within him and he strained for a closer listen.

_"All alone, I have cried…silent tears, full of pride…in a world made of steel…made of stone…"_

As the tempo began to pick up, he opened the door completely, and the girl in question finally came into his line of sight.  Her back was to him, standing on her toes to reach and polish the impressive archery kit stored on top of one bookshelf.  It was a birthday gift Xavier presented to her some weeks before, having heard of her leaning the sport back at her old orphanage.  Evan, himself, had only seen her shoot a couple of times…and immediately understood where she acquired her killer aim.

Already dressed for the day, Ryo donned her usual pair of dark jeans and black top, though a navy blue bandana was also tied around her otherwise unrestrained hair.  In one hand, she held a dusty rag cloth, while the other was busy helping maintain her balance.  A feather duster was wedged in between her teeth.  Since she seemed a bit preoccupied for the moment, Evan took the opportunity to glance around.  

It dawned on him that he'd never actually been in Ryo's room before, even though she'd seen his a few times.  There was nothing particularly out of place, considering she was in the process of moving furniture.  Her walls were decorated with a few pictures and movie posters, but otherwise untouched.  Having almost no personal items of her own, there were very few knick-knacks on the dresser—what was there were mostly things Jubilee had left behind.

The shelf above her bed was probably the most personal, holding a small stereo (something found in every student's room) loaded with CDs Kitty had burned specifically for her, and a number of DVDs.  Though a devout fan of the _horror_ genre, as was he, it was easy to see her preferences lay particularly in the eighties classics from the titles.  From where he stood, he was able to make out a few: _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_…the _Back to the Future_ trilogy… _Spinal Tap_… _Clue_… _The Princess Bride_…and _Howard the Duck_?

An eyebrow went up at that last one.

_"What a feelin'…being's beleivin'…"_ Evan was drawn away from his thoughts suddenly when his mind registered a second voice suddenly accompanying the CD.  _"I can't have it all, now I'm dancing for my life…"_ Much to his surprise, he looked over and saw Ryo singing along, the feather duster now in her left hand.

He almost didn't recognize the voice coming out of her mouth.  It was very soft and had a high pitch to it.  Not the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard, mind you, but certainly not uneasy on the ears.

_"Take your passion…and make it happen…pictures come alive, you can dance right through your life…."_

In fact, the closest comparison he could make was to that new pop duo who just recently released an album…what were their names?  _Ami PuffyYumi?  Something like that._

As the instrumental section continued to play, Ryo started dancing around the room, eyes closed and arms waving around freely.  Evan could distinctively see the faint blush on her cheeks from enthusiasm; she was finally getting some of her coloring back.  That was a good sign.

When Ryo had first arrived at the mansion some months before, she was deathly pale and close to twenty pounds underweight, even taking into consideration her naturally petite frame.  Though refusing to stay in the hospital wing to be treated for malnutrition, she made a deal with the Professor and allowed Dr. McCoy to keep a watchful eye, monitoring her weight gain and eating habits.  Along with daily training exercises, it was more than enough to assister in a slow, but steady, recovery.

Leaning up against the doorframe, Evan folded his arms and crossed his legs.  An amused smile appeared on his face as he watched her.

_"Now I hear the music…close my eyes, I am Rhythm…"_ His smile grew wider at this, knowing how much pride Ryo held in her codename.  _"In a flash, it take hold…of my heart…"_

But his amusement quickly turned to shock when he noticed something amiss.  In fact, Evan had to blink several times and rub both eyes before he was sure they weren't playing tricks on him.  They weren't.  A collective ball of energy—no doubt sonic on nature—was forming around the stereo, giving the appearance of some type of heat wave.  Unbeknownst to Ryo, who seemed oblivious to everything around her, the ball began to spread across the room, guiding by the waving of her hands as if she were subconsciously controlling it.

It wasn't long before the entire room was infected, the very air before him rippling in distortion.

_"Take your passion…and make it happen…pictures come alive, you can dance right through your life…"_

For whatever reason, Ryo chose that particular moment to spin around.  She froze when she saw Evan standing there.  Their eyes locked.

_"What a feelin'…"_

The remaining lyrics echoed through the air, reverberating unnaturally off the walls.  Ryo was the first to break eye contact when she detected the subtle change in sound, glancing over in time to see the sonic waves retreat back into the speakers they came from.  The stereo itself was thrown back from the sudden impact, recoiling into the wall behind it as the plug as pulled from its socket.

Silence overtook the room as Ryo slowly turned back to face Evan, the expression on her face not unlike that of a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car: "…busted, huh?" She finally said, smiling weakly.

"You could say that." He entered the room, eyes darting about as if expecting the waves to reappear at any second.  "That was amazing, Ry!"  I thought all your powers were capable of were those blasts."

Ryo grew very distant all of a sudden, wandering over to the dresser table.  Gently lifting a small, black jewelry box, she focused her sight on the delicate Sakura petal designs rather than on him.  "In a way…that _is_ all they're capable of," came her reply after a moment.

"What are you talking about?"  Evan asked, understandably confused.  "I just saw—"

"What you saw was a fluke!" She snapped, slamming the box on the table in frustration.  "It happens every time I start dancing; I can't control it any more than the rest of my stupid powers!" Looking up, she met his stare through the dresser mirror and her expression softened.  "Sorry…"

Crossing over to the bed, Evan took a seat on the edge and motioned to the space next to him.  She plopped down dejectedly, keeping her eyes to the floor and her hands at her sides.  The feather duster tickled lightly against her skin from where it was wedged in her jean belt, but she ignored it.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He finally asked, when it became clear she had no intentions of speaking up first.

Though her line of sight didn't shift, Evan could still detect the hint of sadness and frustration in her eyes.  "Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to be cooped up at the mansion all the time because of poor control?" She lifted her head.  "I can't even go to school with you because the Professor doesn't trust me enough.  It's bad enough I can barely keep my blasts under control…but to have the ability to manipulate all kinds of sound waves and not know how to use it…" Her voice trailed off.

"You're not the only one, Ry.  Jamie has the same problem you do." He reminded her.  "You're talking as if the rest of us have mastered our powers.  Look at me, for instance…one sneeze, and the boy's locker room looked like something out of an _Indiana Jones_ movie, remember?" He joked lightly, having told her about that little episode of his.

She didn't even crack a smile.

"Evan, I'm seventeen years old.  I've had these powers since I was _fourteen_.  I'm not saying I should have perfect control, or anything like that…but I should, at least, be able to walk down the street without worrying about taking somebody's head off!"  Groaning in frustration, she closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder.  He responded by gently wrapping an arm around her.

Several seconds passed before, once again, he spoke up first.  "Listen…I heard the other talking downstairs about heading to the park for a group picnic this morning.  Xavier gave us a day off from training.  I'm sure he'd let you come along, since we'd all be together.  Want to?"

"No," she muttered, shaking her head lightly before burying her face further into his shoulder.  "I wanna finish cleaning up, or it'll never get done."  

Evan paused to blink, then sighed.

This girl was nothing short of an enigma to him.  In the brief time he'd known her, two things had become apparent to him.  One was that, in spite of her insistence on never being left out, she seemed to hate being around large groups of people and always tried to find some excuse to get out of it.  He could understand the sentiment of not really fitting in—it was one of the things in common they had that originally drew them together as friends—but it was almost like she didn't _want_ to fit in.  

Normally, this wouldn't have been too much of an issue, if it weren't for the other one: her stubbornness.  The kind of stubbornness that often times got her into trouble, as well.  Fortunately, months of experience had taught him how to deal with it.

Almost.

Neither were sure just how it started: a playful slap of the arm…a gentle shove.  Whatever the reason, Evan and Ryo soon found themselves engaged in an all out tug-'o-war.  Essentially, they were fighting over thin air…but it was the act, not the object, that mattered.  It wasn't long before Ryo began giggling uncontrollably, and Evan was just relieved to see her smiling again

When she threatened to blast him into next week if he didn't let up, he resolved the problem easily by grabbing both her wrists and holding them over her head with one hand, the other needed for offense.  She squirmed and wiggled in a vain attempt to get free, but only succeeded in knocking herself off-balance, collapsing backwards onto the bed.  Refusing to let go, Evan too fell so that he was lying on his side next to her, hovering slightly so as to maintain his hold on her wrists.

"Get off me, Evan!" Ryo exclaimed, sounding slightly annoyed, despite her laughter.

He replied by leaning over to look her directly in the eye.  She tried to maintain a steadfast glare, but the smile on her face betrayed her.  "You promise to come with us?"  The way he said it sounded almost like an ultimatum, so Ryo gave him the first, most mature reply she could think of: she stuck her tongue out at him.  "Okay…you asked for it…."

Holding down her arms, he began to tickle her with his free hand.  The only thing preventing skin contact was the thin layer of cloth as his fingers danced across her stomach.  Ryo shrieked with laughter and tried to curl herself up in defense.  Under normal circumstances, she might have been able to push him away.  But she was simply laughing too hard to gather enough strength to do so.

And, if was completely honest with herself, she wasn't entirely sure she _wanted_ to push him away. 

"Okay!  Okay!" she managed to reply in between gasps after a moment.  "I'll go!"

The tickling abruptly ceased, but Evan didn't let go quite yet.  Instead, he leaned in close until their noses were almost touching, a grin of triumphant plastered on his face.  He wanted to gloat.  "You promise?"

"I promise!"

"…good."  Satisfied, he finally freed the girl and sat up.

It took Ryo a moment before she could do the same, however.  With all the excitement done and over with, she was surprised to find herself short of breath.  Her heart was racing a mile a minute, pounding against her chest.  _I must've been more tired then I realized,_ she thought to herself, blaming the physical exertion on her current condition.  _Good thing we don't have any Danger Room sessions today._  That in mind, she closed her eyes and willed her heartbeat to slow—a trick Wolverine taught her in meditation.

Evan was already at the door by the time she regained her composure to sit up.  "Hey, Ry?"  He called back over his shoulder, turning briefly to look at her.

"Mmm?"

"Since you're so enthusiastic about cleaning…wanna do my room next?"  Laughing, he barely ducked in time to avoid the feather duster that went whizzing by his head.

As it turned out, Ryo wasn't the only one reluctant to join in that day.  Try as they might, no one could manage to drag Bobby out of his room.  He locked himself inside and refused to let anyone else in—including Sam—claiming he had "more important things to do."  Few believed him, but there wasn't much they could do about it.  Still, it was with a heavy heart that they packed and left the mansion gates for Bayville Park.

"Got any fives?"

"Go fish."  Sighing in defeat (her fifth in a row…but who was counting?), Kitty reached over to the middle of the circle and drew the top card.  Three of Spades.  Damn.  She hastily shoved it into her hand and glanced down at the one measly booklet she had managed to gather.

"My turn!"  Jamie exclaimed from his seat to Kitty's immediate left.  This earned a simultaneous groan from the rest of the group; he not only had more booklets than everyone else, he had more than everyone else put together.  "Ray, got a six?"

"Damnit, Multiple!"

The group of mutants had found a relatively peaceful, secluded area of the park to camp out at.  No kids hounding them to "show off" their powers, no adults to give them distasteful stares.  Very pleasant.  This wasn't all surprising, though, as there were very few people outside that day, tourist season having ended the previous month and the majority of the summer population already returned to the city.

Jean—who had been bared from partaking in the card game for obvious reasons—sat off to one side of the circle, cleaning up empty paper plates and cups left over from brunch.  Potato chips, cookies, and other random snacks were scattered around the blanket, along with a few packs of cards.

Most had agreed to start a card game after eating, but a few opted for other activities.  Roberto, for example, had been delighted to find a wide open, grassy field nearby just begging for a game of soccer, and dragged off Rahne and Amara for a two-on-one match.  Kurt was still at Sunday mass, but would be meeting up with them later on.  Sam curled up against the bark of the tree they were under, apparently engrossed in some novel.

"Spyke?  Any Jacks?"

"I don't believe this."

"Is that a 'yes'?"

After inwardly debating if the Jamie's skills were some repressed mutant power (the jury was still out), most of the Fish players were considering following the others' examples.

The twelve-year-old mutant enthusiastically collected his winnings before turning to his next victim: "Any twos, Miss Ryo?" Silence greeted him.  "…Miss Ryo?"  Nothing.

All eyes turned to the young blonde in question, located comfortably in the space between Evan and Jamie.  She was lying on her stomach and wrapped in a thick, warm blanket.  Arms folded in front of her provided for a headrest, though she still managed to hold her cards steadily in one hand.  The presence of any booklets were conspicuously absent, and it had yet to dawn on her the reason could be Evan and Jamie's ability to see her most of her cards from where they sat.

Then again, she was fast asleep.

Resisting the urge to laugh, Evan leaned down and gently shook her.  "I think he means you." He whispered, just loud enough for those close by to hear.

"…hmm? Wha—?" Ryo stirred at the touch faintly before coming awake with a start, wearily darting her head.  Unfortunately, she dropped her cards in the process.  "Oops."

Scott leaned over to collect them, reshuffled the deck, and handed her new ones.  "Are you feeling alright?" He asked while the cards were still being distributed.

"Yeah." She answered dismissively, moving to sit up.  A hand absently went to her forehead, as if checking for a fever.  "Just a little tired, is all.  I guess I didn't get enough sleep last night."  As if emphasizing her point further, she stiffled a yawn.

"Are your 'muffs working okay?" Evan spoke up.  " 'Cause—" but he was quickly silenced from saying anything further when she elbowed him in the ribs, shooting the boy a quick glare.

"What 'muffs?" Tabby wanted to know, eyebrow raised in question.  

After threatening to elbow Evan again for opening his big mouth, Ryo sighed in defeat and began explaining.  Most of the students already knew the basics of what her powers included…namely, an enhanced sense of hearing, more acute than that of a dog's.  But what they didn't know was the difficulty she had sleeping at night because of it.  The everyday (and night) noise around her was much too loud for even a moment of silence, and even at the Institute she'd gone several of her first nights without sleeping before finally going to Xavier for help.

Regular earplugs didn't work.  She'd tried them all.  Every material, every brand.  Earmuffs—the ones used when operating close to loud, heavy machinery—were slightly better, but uncomfortable to sleep in.  So together, Beast and the Professor designed something new: soundproof pieces of cloth that Ryo could slip over her ears, easily blocking out almost everything.

They worked beautifully.  Made of some mixture of a metallic alloy and fabrics she's never heard of, each 'muff was so soft and light it was like adding another pillow, compared to the hard bulk of plastic she'd used beforehand.  Jubilee and Evan were the only ones (aside from the teachers) who knew about it.  She hadn't wanted to tell anyone else because it was embarrassing to admit.  A stupid problem she couldn't solve on her own.

"But if they work so well," Scott began, trying to understand what she'd just told them, "then what's the problem?"

Ryo shrugged.  "I wish I knew."

"Maybe," Jean suggested, "your powers are growing."

Again, Ryo shrugged, but this time it was accompanied by an internal groan at the thought.  To be honest, she _had_ considered the possibility on more than one occasion.  So many, in fact, that it seemed the only logical answer.  _That's all I need right now,_ she thought to herself, quietly so Jean wouldn't be able to hear, _more power to have no control over._

Out loud, she said, "I don't suppose the Prof. can build me one of those soundproof tanks, like in _DareDevil_, huh?"  The question was met with blank expressions and odd stares.  "…didn't think so."

_"You're listening to Z-100, New York's number one hit music station." _The small radio Rogue had brought with her blared out. _ "That was 'Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5.  Our next song is by request…"_

The rest of the radio DJ's announcement was drowned out by Tabby's squealing as the first chords to a new song began: "Oh, I love this song!" she exclaimed, cards long since forgotten as she jumped to her feet, dragging a very reluctant Ray with her.  "Come on, Sparky, let's dance."

His only reply was a weak moan of protest, but the boy complied to his girlfriend's wishes, somewhat relieved by the fact that was starting to act like her old self—like the same old Tabby—again.  Frankly, that episode of hers a few weeks prior had scared him; it was a side of Tabby he'd never seen before.  Fear.

Of him?

Whatever had been going through her mind at the time, however, was gone now.  At least, he hoped it was.

_"I see you lookin' at me.  I can tell by your eyes that you're feelin' me.  And I really want you to get close to me.  So would you…dance with me?  Dance with me?"_

The rest of the group looked on in faint amusement as the couple began stepping in time to the beat.  It was a slow, cyclic beat—slower than a salsa, but with a very similar feel to it.  Their rights hands clasped together, Ray lifted them over his head as Tabby rhythmically twirled underneath it, throwing a bit of hip into the movement.  Glances were exchanged sporadically.  Her trademark smirk was as mischievous as ever.

"Muffins, anyone?"

Everything seemed to come to a screeching halt as Kitty's voice rang out suddenly.  A number of pairs of eyes turned to face the most horrific sight imaginable.  Some could have sworn, right there and then, they heard the haunting music looming over them from somewhere in the background.

Standing…well, _sitting_ before them was a fresh batch of Kitty's homemade muffins.  Blueberry, to be precise.

Cautiously, so Kitty would be able to detect the motion, Evan leaned slightly to his left—where Scott was seated—and whispered, "Does the Professor know she's been cooking again?"

"Professor?" he whispered back, gulping nervously.  "I doubt even Kurt knew, and he spends more time in that kitchen than—"

"What are you two whispering about?"

"Nothing!" They answered simultaneously, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Kitty gave them a strange look before choosing to ignore them altogether.  "So…who wants one?" she asked instead, brandishing the plate.  "Ryo?"

"Hmm?" The girl was still half asleep, and almost started to drift off again, but lifted her head at the sound of her name.  Ignoring the frantic warning motions coming from the boys, she gave the brunette a quick nod.  "Sure.  Why not?  I missed breakfast this morning."  As the rest watched on in horror, she picked on up and took a bite…and grinned. "Yum!"

Everyone did a double-take.

Kitty practically glowed with pride.  "I'm glad you like!"  Then something caught her attention off in the distance.  "Hey, Kurt!  Hold up!"  Setting the plate back down, she stood up and ran over to meet up with her best friend, who had come straight from Church, as his dressy-casual ensemble indicated.

Ryo waited until she was out of sight before hastily grabbing a napkin and spitting out the bite of muffin.  "What…was _that_?!" she managed to gasp out while reaching for a bottle of water.

"That," Rogue grinned, "Was ya first experience with Kitty's cookin'.  Sorry…we tried ta warn ya."

Understandably confused, Ryo swallowed another gulp before speaking up.  "But what about…"

"Your birthday breakfast?" Tabby finished for her, referring to the batch of muffins the girls had brought to her in the sick bay for her seventeenth birthday.  "I thought you'd've figured it out by now.  Those things were store-bought, of course.  Jean here made the switch when Kitty wasn't looking." She motioned towards the red-haired girl.

"Well, we couldn't very well allow her to poison you on your birthday.  That would be almost cruel." Jean joked lightly, giving the rest of the girls a quick wink.  Laughter erupted from the group, including those who hadn't been in on the original joke.  

But Ryo instead stared down at the…_thing_ in her hand.  That was no blueberry muffin.  Sure, it looked safe enough.  Maybe the edges looked slightly burnt, but the rest of it was a crispy golden brown speckled with indigo-colored berries.  An aroma of nothing but blueberry could even be detected, but it wasn't the blueberries that were the problem.  Those actually tasted pretty good.  The rest of the muffin, on the other hand…

When she reached for her bottle of water once more, the _thing_ accidentally slipping from her grasp.  It landed on the blanket with a soft thud.  And bounced.  The laughter ceased abruptly as everybody watched it catapult into the air, hitting the sidewalk before continuing its way down the concrete path.  Not unlike a rubber ball.

Sitting the closest to her at the moment, Evan was the first to notice Ryo turn slightly green.  "You know," she began weakly, "I think I'll hold off on the baked goods for a little while.  Say…oh…the next twenty years."

Sam tried to keep his mind focused on _Oliver Twist_, an English assignment he'd put off for far too long already.  He'd even managed to succeed in ignoring most of the commotion coming from the picnic blanket.  But every time he got around to skimming a few lines, his eyes would drift upwards and over to the nearby field.  

What originally started out as a friendly two-on-one match—Roberto versus the girls—had escalated to a not-so-friendly competition between he and Rahne.  Amara had long since been reduced to cheering her friend from the sidelines.

Even he had to admit Roberto was good.  Maneuvering the ball with great ease, the Brazilian boy was apparently enjoying his clear advantage over Rahne, taunting her with a few Portuguese phrases he knew she wouldn't be able to understand between plays.  Not that Rahne let him get away with it, periodically getting her own shot or two in.  While nowhere near Roberto's level of skill, she could certainly hold her own.

Of course, Sam knew that already.

Except the game itself wasn't what drew his attention.  It was the interaction between those who were playing.  Little things.  Glances…smiles…bouts of laughter.  Seemingly innocent enough, right?  

Sam would never consider himself to be a jealous person, but he wasn't blind either.  Rahne had told him all about her brief crush on Roberto, back when they were still just friends.  He knew all about the field trip to the redwood forest.  Secrets were a rare thing between them, one of the things he loved most about their relationship.  She'd sworn to him that it was all in the past, that she was over her stupid crush, and he took her word for it.

This morning, however, doubt was beginning to creep into his mind.  No matter how many times Rahne had told him those things didn't matter to her, he just couldn't shake the knowledge that he and Roberto were as different as night and day.  Roberto was average height, but with well-toned muscles bronzed by hours spent in the sun and the agility of a true athlete.  Sam was tall, lanky, and an absolute klutz.  His ability in sports was satisfactory, at best, and good for little more than a few rounds of basketball or football with the guys.  Rahne was the real outdoors of them both, sheer enthusiasm more than making up for whatever she lacked in skill—which wasn't much.

"Penny for your thoughts?" a voice rang out suddenly, drawing Sam out of his musings.  He looked up to find Amara smiling down at him.  "You look like you're a million miles away right now, Sammy."

He inched over in his seat to make room for her before turning his eyes back to the book.  "Just thinkin' about…stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" she queried further, plopping down beside him.  "Anything wrong?"

"No."

He hated lying to her.  Aside from Rahne (and occasionally Bobby), Amara was his best and closest friend at the institute.  More so, she was a confidant.  Somebody he could turn to, for example, whenever he and Rahne were having another of their ridiculous fights.  But some things, he just didn't feel like sharing.

"So what happened ta the soccer game?  Ah thought ya wanted 'em ta teach ya how ta play?"

"Don't try and change to subject on me." She began, "Though if you _must_ know, I got tired of being ignored.  I swear, those two have the exact same, stubborn winning streak in them…" but trailed off as she saw the look in his eye.  Realization dawned on her, and her smile softened.  "Oh, Sammy…that's what's bothering you, isn't it?"

Sam chose to remain silent.  

Gently, she reached over and took the book from his hands so he'd look at her.  "Listen to me carefully, okay?  Rahne cares about you a lot.  More than you both realize.  You're all she talks about half the time.  No offense, but it can get pretty annoying; some of us just kinda tune her out after a while." This earned her a faint smile.  "Besides, she can't stand Roberto unless it's on the battlefield."

"You mean _soccer_ field." He corrected.

"No, I mean battlefield." She answered back with a roll of the eyes.  "You, of all people, know how competitive she can be when she sets her mind to something.  And like I said earlier, Roberto's the exact same way.  When those two go at it…it's war."  The two burst out laughing at the thought, and for a splint second, Sam's worries were eased.

While Amara absently flipped through the novel, Sam snuck one last glance out onto the soccer field.  Aside from Rahne and Roberto looking close to murdering one another at that point, nothing seemed any different than usual.  Even that wasn't so out of character.  Maybe he _was_ overreacting.

But then why wouldn't the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach go away?

The ice helped a little.  The aspirin helped more.

"Ugh, I swear those stupid birds are laughing at me!" Ryo glared at the nest above her, if a bit unsteadily, as she tried to hold the cold compress to her head with one hand and balance a glass of water in the other.  "Just listen to 'em.  Chirping away…I'll bet this happens to _them_ all the time and we just don't see it."

Taking a seat beside her on the park bench, Evan had to stiffen a chuckle.  "I told you to watch out for those low-flying branches, Ry."

"That tree attacked me, and you know it!"

It hadn't taken long for the two to get bored of card games and the random arguments breaking out between those still playing.  Ryo snuck away first, but Evan was right behind her.  Anything to get away from those so-called muffins, she told him, but he had a feeling a touch of xenophobia was more to blame.

His skateboard was still in the back of Scott's convertible where he'd left it, and as they passed by the parking lot it gave him an idea.  Ryo was always commenting on how she wanted to learn.  The opportunity for a lesson couldn't have been more perfect.  Finding a smooth sidewalk long enough to practice on had been easy enough.  Two of her archery skills included remaining study on her feet and maintaining good balance, something she was easily able to apply on the board.  A few tips and demonstrations later, she'd mastered both the Tick-Tack and the Ollie.

Granted, maybe they were two of the easiest tricks to learn, but Evan had to admit she was a quick study.

The problem came when she wanted to make an attempt at a Shuvit, a very basic but still fun trick.  It requires the board to spin sideways in mid-air so that when you land, the nose and tail have been reversed.  While possible to do standing still, it's usually much easier for beginners to start off moving.  

Ryo had managed a good start…her kickoff was a little wobbly, but she sustained her balance…and she even remembered to bend her knees to absorb the shock on impact with the ground.  Unfortunately, she'd twisted her body mid-air as her foot pushed forward on the back of the board, and accidentally landed backwards.  A common mistake.  Not a big deal, except that the skateboard was still rolling as she twirled around.  A low-flying branch had caught her by surprise, knocking her clear off the board and causing a lovely welt on her forehead.

"Here, let me see it." Evan turned in his seat, taking the icepack from her.  He was used to skateboarding injuries, and would be able to tell how serious hers really was.

She resisted at first, pulling back hesitantly, but eventually allowed him to observe the wound.  A lovely bruise was developing just over her left eye, roughly half the size of his fist, but the skin hadn't been broken.  Some of the tree bark crumbled away on impact before, leaving speckles on her forehead.  When he tried lightly brushing them away, Ryo inhaled sharply through her teeth, noticeably flinching.

"Sorry." He quickly amended, retracting his hand and gently reapplying the compress to her forehead.  Their fingers lightly brushed together when she reached up to hold it in place.  Neither seemed to notice.  "Guess you should probably work a little more on it next time, hmm?" 

Stubborn as always, she countered back, "I don't know what you're talking about.  I think I did pretty good for a beginner."

"You're doing great on the tricks." He agreed, "It's the breaking that needs work."

"Okay, so I ran into a tree one time.  _One_ time!  There were plenty of other times I did it right!" She moved to cross her arms in protest before remembering that one was still holding the icepack in place.

"Really?  You mean, like when we were first testing out your stance?" he teased; it had taken several tries for her to realize that, being left-handed, she was more comfortable in a _goofy_ (right foot forward) rather than _normal_ (left foot forward) stance.  A switch-stance would come after she'd gained more experience.

"I stopped!"

"Yeah, but the skateboard didn't."

It had also taken her several tries to figure out just how far to lean back when breaking, so that she didn't just slide off the back of the board while it continued to roll away.

Ryo's eyes narrowed, and she gave him a quick glare before practically shoving the icepack into his chest, headache forgotten, and grabbed the skateboard at his feet.  "You think I can't do it?  I'll show you…" she muttered, storming off down the sidewalk.

Evan roll his eyes while she wasn't looking, but said nothing further.

Seconds later, she was rolling down the path at a medium-paced speed.  Bent slightly at the knee and perfectly balanced in her _goofy_ stance, things seemed to be going all right.  When she passed by the bench, her signal to break, Ryo gently pushed down on the tail end of the board, leaning back slightly to allow her weight to slow her down.

She leaned too much; before Ryo could react in time, the skateboard skidded out from beneath her and sent her flying backwards.  It flipped over a few times before landing on the adjacent grass, back wheels still spinning in the air.  A faint cry of surprise escaping her, she shut her eyes tightly and prepared to hit the ground…when a pair of strong arms caught her.

"Gotcha." Evan's voice rang out from behind.

Seconds passed where Ryo didn't say anything.  She opened one eye…then the other…but her expression remained unreadable.  Almost frighteningly so.  It meant any number of possible reactions from her.  Just when Evan thought a major spasm was about to occur, however, she instead burst out laughing.  

Standing up straight, she turned to look at him with a sheepish smile.  "Well…that pretty much backfired, huh?"

"Pretty much." Evan grinned.  "I hate to say 'I told you so', but—" He was cut off as she covered his mouth with one hand.

"Then don't."

An oddly new sensation washed over her just then, as if suddenly seeing Evan for the first time.  Or in a new light.  Two chocolate-colored orbs watched her every move. Before she realized what she was doing, Ryo slowly brought her hand down, fingers trailing across his skin until he reached up and took her own hand in his.  Neither said a word. 

Her mind drifted back to those first few weeks after arriving at the mansion.  It was really more of an accident that she and Evan had even met up in the first place; both had conveniently been trying to get out of…what had it been?  For her, avoiding a trip to the mall with Jubilee and the girls, while Evan was escaping a tag-team football game in the backyard.

She remembered everything as if it had happened only yesterday.  Bored out of her mind and eager to escape the Med Ward, she'd snuck up to the top floor where Ororo kept her garden.  The vast assortment of flora she found up there had literally taken her breath away; science had always been her favorite subject, and she was eager to use the opportunity to learn a thing or two in the area of botany.  

That's where Evan had caught her, drifting around the makeshift greenhouse, when he came up in search of his aunt.  The conversation that followed had been brief but interesting, to say the least.

It made her laugh now to recall all the things her fellow Newbies, and even some of the older students, had casually mentioned about him.  Most involved passing comments about how lazy and irresponsible he could be, one or two even going into detail about how he completely lacked respect for authority figures.  Okay, so maybe they were all true…but there was also another side to him.  One that, apparently, only she had seen.

And in that moment, she was reminded of the fact more so than ever.

Realization quickly dawned on her of the position they were in: neither had moved from their spot, and while one hand of his still held loosely to hers, the other came to rest comfortably on her waist.  A shiver ran down her spine as their eyes made contact, and her heart was beating so hard she thought it would burst.  This time, however, there was no mistaking the reason.  She didn't need her powers to hear his heart racing as quickly as hers.

An alarm went off in her head that silently screamed at her, but she found her legs no longer willing to cooperate.  "I should…probably go fetch the skateboard." She wearily spoke up without breaking eye contact.

"Probably." He repeated, just as softly.

It remained exactly where it had fallen, one wheel still leisurely spinning.

Ryo could feel her whole body trembling as he leaned down to close the gap between them.  Not from fear exactly, but something she couldn't quite explain.  Her eyes closed just as the sensation of his lips brushing against hers took hold of her senses.  The kiss was brief, almost painfully so, and lasted a fraction of a second, leaving her breathless all the same.

"I think we need to talk." Evan whispered as they parted, foreheads practically touching.  Wordlessly, Ryo nodded in response, unable to tear her eyes away.  

They remained like that for a few seconds before smiling, a bout of jubilant laughter escaping them both.

Miles away at the Institute, Xavier let out a sudden audible gasp as he felt himself loose hold.  Collapsing back into his chair, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small handkerchief to wipe away the sweat forming on his brow.  _I must be getting on in years,_ he thought wryly to himself, _I never used to tire this easily_.  Yet, despite the fatigue, both mentally and physically, threatening to overcome him, the middle-aged man couldn't help wearily smile from appearing.

It worked.

His instincts had been dead on, as always.  The attraction had already been there—he'd seen it, even if they hadn't—only requiring a few "suggestions" implanted into their subconscious to help things along further.  And with that assurance, another impending problem had been avoided.

After all, there was no greater assurance of loyalty than the heart.

"Charles, you may want to come have a look at this." Ororo called out to him suddenly.

"What is it, Ororo?" He wheeled himself over to the controls, where both Ororo and Logan were monitoring the Danger Room session occurring below.

Having little desire to spend the day moping around, and even less dealing with the others, Bobby had requested a special simulation run that morning.  It was something to do, at least.  Something to keep his mind off of things.  Of course, none of the teachers had the heart to say no.

"Drakes already made it up to level seven," Logan answered.  There was more than a hint of surprise in his voice.  "Time elapse: eighteen minutes, twenty-nine seconds.  Never would have thought the Popsicle had it in him."

"Ah, remind me again," Xavier queried the two, placing his elbows on the armrests of his wheelchair and folding his hands, "Which program did he choose to run?"

A few seconds passed as Ororo called up the program details.  "Simulation 5.92.  Requires quick-thinking in emergency situations and a strong, take-charge attitude." There was another pause as she reviewed Bobby's current status and progression.  "I must admit I, too, am impressed.  We haven't seen scores like these since…"

"Since Scott ran the program when he was his age." Logan finished for her.  His face had twisted into an amused smirk the more he thought about it.  "Seems without anyone to show off for, Drake's got a real knack for serious leadership.  Who knew?"

Internally, Xavier's grin widened further, though he maintained a neutral expression on the outside.

He knew, of course.

  
________________  
TO BE CONTINUED…


End file.
